Fipkart plans to roll out One-stop mobile app

E-commerce major, Flipkart is planning to shift its business strategy from running an e-commerce portal to creating an ecosystem of services.

According to sources, Softbank wanted Flipkart to increase its customer base to take on the 7 million members of Amazon Prime. Softbank wanted the online marketplace to create an app ecosystem that would have millions of active subscribers, they said.

"Other than providing Flipkart with additional revenue, it will increase the use of the Flipkart app. A team is involved in building this app and it is taking help from new investor Tencent", a source said.

Amazon’s Prime membership programme and the assortment of services such as Amazon Now and Amazon Pantry provide a one-stop solution for online shopping and entertainment.

In 2016, Snapdeal, which is in talks for a merger with Flipkart, had tied up with Freecharge, Uber, Zomato, Redbus and Cleartrip to create a one-stop app solution to take on Paytm. The Paytm app ecosystem hinges on its mobile wallet, which allows money transfer, online shopping, travel bookings and movie ticket sales.

Arvind Singhal, Chairman and Managing Director, Technopak, said, "We have seen earlier that such plans have failed to find takers. There is also a question of revenue share between Flipkart and the apps it brings on board. This is an experiment for Flipkart to increase its revenue."