As Indians increasingly access the internet exclusively through their smartphones, fashion portal Myntra owned by India’s largest e-commerce firm, Flipkart, will shut its website and go mobile-only through its app.
The transition to its app-only platform from May 15 was announced by Mukesh Bansal, CEO, Myntra, and Head of Commerce at Flipkart, who said, “This has massive implications on how the shopping experience will look like in the future.”
Sachin Bansal, co-founder and CEO of the Bangalore-headquartered Flipkart said, “It is a tsunami of change, this is a very big moment in the history of India’s internet.” He later told Forbes, “Myntra will become the world’s first mobile-only e-commerce player.”
“India is trying to get ahead of the rest of the world in technology adoption,” said Sachin Bansal. “We are no longer mere followers, we can lead the way.”
Myntra, which was acquired by the Tiger Global and DST Global- backed Flipkart in 2014, is riding India’s smartphone wave. The world’s fastest-growing smartphone market, a country of 1.2 billion people where every other Indian is less than 25 years old, is full of young, mobile-savvy users.
From Zero users a year ago, currently about 95% of Myntra’s traffic is being channeled through its mobile app. Mobile accounts for 70% of its total revenues, said Mukesh Bansal. The fashion portal is targeting an additional 5 million app downloads in the next three-four months to add to its current 9 million app users.
Flipkart, caught in an intense fight with rivals including the Indian unit of Amazon and the SoftBank-backed Snapdeal, said it too would transition to becoming an app-only e-commerce firm in about a year.
India’s million mobile internet user base is to touch 213 million by June, according to estimates.
Of the total time Indians spend on the internet, 90% is through mobile phones. “India is a mobile-first country. In a few years, it will be a mobile-only country,” said Sachin Bansal.
Myntra is investing heavily in technology to unleash a host of innovations such as a highly-personalized shopping based on size, body shape and fit. Mukesh Bansal said Myntra is doubling its technology team and will head to the Silicon Valley to hire talent. “We are looking to hire a lot of senior people from the Valley, “ he said.
Flipkart has already been raiding Google in the Silicon Valley, hiring two top executives there and moving them to its Bangalore headquarters.
Myntra is to hit $1 billion in revenues by 2016 and Mukesh Bansal said the portal is targeting $5 billion in a few years. “We see ourselves turn profitable in the next couple of years,” he added. Fashion is set to be a $100 billion market in India in the coming years.
The offices of Myntra. India is set to become a $100 billion market for fashion. (Image: Myntra)
