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Having acquired the largest ecommerce share in the market, Flipkart, plans to become more mobile-centric in the next two years.
According to Flipkart’s Chief Product Officer, Punit Soni, “The company will become more mobile-centric through adoption of newer technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and social networks.
He added that heavy discount on online purchase may not earn consumer loyalty and help build user base in the long run.
Soni said, “In India, you have probably 20 odd millions of laptops, but one billion are using mobiles. I have to worry about that billion people who will use the phone to buy stuff in the next two years.
The company has already made a beginning in adopting newer and advanced technologies to become user-friendly. It is gearing up to meet demand of the ever-growing mobile phone user base in India.
To a query on heavy discounts being offered by e-commerce portals using the funds by venture capitalists, he said finally only those companies which have and offer real value to consumers will survive.
“At some point, it (PE funds) will dry up. Those who will have real value will stand in the market. If I really have something to offer beyond those discounts, you will stay with me… The race is not actually to use discounts to get us as many users as possible. The race is to build something people would love even if I did not give discounts,” he explained. Soni, however, refused to divulge when the Flipkart expects break-even in its operations, and said the immediate focus is to build a better user experience.
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