Here’s a new development in the key ecommerce battleground of India: market leader, and homegrown provider, Flipkart, is launching a new loyalty programme called Flipkart Plus and many of the features will look familiar.
The programme will launch on August 15th, which is also Indian Independence Day, and we expect more details will emerge when it goes live then. But it’s obvious that they know there is more they can do at Flipkart to maintain their strong position in the face of high spending rivals from overseas and encourage buyer loyalty.
Under the terms of Flipkart Plus, shoppers can sometimes get free fast delivery, and early access to special sales events. Does it sound familiar to anyone? The customers will also enjoy access to better customer support. But distinctively many of the perks of the Flipkart Plus programme will come as you accrue points and include vouchers for fashionable brands such as Hotstar, Zomato, Makemytrip and Café Coffee Day. Flipkart has said they expect to develop the programme over time.
This is a new iteration of a loyalty programme for Flipkart, after the previous Flipkart First scheme proved to be unsuccessful. They say of Flipkart Plus:
Every time a customer completes a purchase on our platform, the customer earns a certain amount of Plus points. As you shop more, you earn more Plus points. And with more Plus points, you unlock key rewards and benefits. It is different from the earlier initiative. Like with every initiative, we have certain learnings. If you see some of the design choices we’ve made, like keeping currency at the centre of it, it is not just to provide benefits which are on the platform, but outside the platform as well. And also, we decided to shave off the membership fee. These are some changes we’ve made.
– Shoumyan Biswas, head of advertising, marketing and Plus, Flipkart
