Flipkart Expands Its VIP Programme To Eight More Cities

Months after Flipkart launched its VIP subscription programme, the Walmart-owned ecommerce major has expanded the service to eight new cities to boost its customer base.

With this move, Flipkart’s VIP subscription programme will now be available for customers in Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Patna, Pune and Ranchi.

Earlier the programme was limited to Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Kolkata and Mumbai customers.

The Flipkart VIP subscription programme offers features, including 48-hour free delivery, 5% extra savings using SuperCoins, instant access to dedicated customer support and cancellation or rescheduling of flights on Cleartrip for INR 1. 

Besides, there are additional offers on Cleartrip hotel bookings, return pick-up within 48 hours and early access to shopping festivals. 

Under the programme, customers can buy a subscription at INR 499 and become a VIP member for a year. Also, there is a limited-time offer for all new VIP customers to avail of savings on every grocery order. 

Prabh Singh, senior vice president – growth, customer and ads at Flipkart, said, “After witnessing the success of this program in 4 cities, we are thrilled to announce the launch of Flipkart VIP in 8 new cities.”

It is pertinent to note that Flipkart launched this programme in October last year to take on its rival Amazon. 

Although Flipkart’s VIP programme approximates Amazon Prime’s features, it does not universally guarantee free same-day or next-day deliveries, a service that has given Amazon a competitive advantage through its Prime programme.

However, Amazon Prime offers a comprehensive package that includes access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Gaming and Reading; Flipkart VIP, on the other hand, does not include entertainment offerings at this time.

This development comes a month after it was reported that Flipkart is foraying into the quick commerce space to take on the likes of Zepto, Zomato’s Blinkit, and Swiggy’s Instamart.

Flipkart is set to launch 10-15 minute delivery services in at least a dozen cities in the next six to eight weeks.

Recently, the company has expanded its travel service offerings by launching a bus booking facility on its app. Through the new launch, Flipkart will provide customers access to 10 Lakh bus connections, covering over 25,000 routes across India.

The company has racked up several investments lately. 

Last week the company secured INR 1,421 Cr (around $170 Mn) from its Singapore parent via an internal cash transfer.

In March, its marketplace arm, Flipkart Internet received a cash infusion, raising about INR 924 Cr ($111 Mn) in two parts from its related entities based in Singapore.

However, amid all this, the ecommerce major saw a drop in its valuation by $5 Bn (INR 41,432 Cr) as of January 2024 compared to January 2022, as per equity transactions by its US parent Walmart.