About Flipkart

Flipkart is an Indian E-commerce website, founded by alumni of IIT Delhi – Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007 and interestingly they worked for Amazon before launching Flipkart. 

Flipkart started its business by selling books &  then later widened into different product lines such as music, movies, consumer electronics, lifestyle products, home essentials & groceries. It started with a direct-to-consumer model & later turned to a marketplace model which connects sellers and buyers. The company has various subsidiaries including Myntra, PhonePe, Ekart, Jeeves & Cleartrip. 

In August 2018, U.S.-based multinational retail chain Walmart acquired an 81.3% controlling stake in Flipkart for the US $16 billion, valuing it at $20 billion.

Marketing Mix of Flipkart

The concept of “marketing mix” is a tool used by businesses to promote and market their product. It is centred around the elements- product, price, place, and promotion. It thus holistically covers the major marketing strategies surrounding a business under the 4P’s.

Let us understand it better by looking at the marketing mix of Flipkart.

1. Product Strategy of Flipkart

• Initially, Flipkart had only one product line: books Later, the company expanded itself into different product segments.
• Now it is selling more than 80 million products of many categories including electronic goods, Literatures & stationery, home appliances, fashion products (clothes, footwear, and accessories), home furnishing products, grocery, books, sports products, auto accessories and fitness products
• They also offer services of insurance, flight bookings & online payments 
• After the Flipkart app, it has launched Flipkart Lite. It opens with a splash screen & combines the rich features of a web app. It has fast and easy navigation. It works on 2G & in offline mode also
• Flipkart launched its product range called “DigiFlip”. Under this brand, it offers products like computer accessories, camera bags, headphones, pen drives, tablet phones and networking routers
• Flipkart has provided a platform for the launch of exclusive phones which are not available offline like MotoG and Xiaomi Mi3 models
• Flipkart’s #SmartBuy also introduced surgical masks and hand sanitisers to fight the shortage in April during the pandemic. The company also united forces with Meru Cabs and uber to deliver essential items to consumers in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru

The company has a very diverse product portfolio because of which it has a large customer base.

2. Price Strategy of Flipkart

• Flipkart provides its products at less prices than other E-Commerce websites, it gives huge discounts to boost up sales and maintain competitive prices
• The company charges a nominal amount for its delivery service and also does not charge if the order costs above Rs 500
• If the product is directly shipped by the seller, then the shipping cost depends on the seller’s shipping charges
• Flipkart also provides the facility of a one-day delivery where the product is delivered within a day by just paying a little more delivery charge
• Flipkart also runs mega sales during the festivals. In these sales, it offers huge discounts on products like Big billion days
• Other facilities for consumers include the availability of E-wallets, E-gifts & EMI for certain products
• Flipkart charges monthly warehouse, referral, and shipping charges from the seller. These charges depend upon the option chosen by the seller

3. Place and Distribution Strategy

• At first, Flipkart started its operations on the direct-to-consumer model in which they bought the book and couriered it, later the company opened many warehouses to store the goods safely
• The first warehouse was opened in Bangalore and later in Coimbatore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Noida and Kolkata
• Around 80% of the orders placed are handled and controlled by warehouses
• Shipping and courier companies are the real mediators in this setup
• Flipkart delivers its products to customers pan India through an extensive delivery network. Their delivery service covers all tier-1, tier-2, tier-3 cities & major rural areas too

4. Promotion Strategy of Flipkart

• Flipkart’s promotional strategy focuses on aggressive marketing through TV ads, print ads, word of mouth, bulk mailing, push notifications in-app & social media marketing campaigns
• The company has partnerships with influencers and celebrities across the range to reach out to and engage with a diverse set of consumers as these people have a huge fan following
• Flipkart has partnerships with key brands in different categories ranging from male grooming to fashion, to draw the attention of consumers
• Flipkart has a partnership with Adani Group to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure and enhance its ability to serve its rapidly growing base of customers
• It has also launched a Flipkart Plus membership program that offers access to special privileges such as more points when you shop on Flipkart, faster delivery, extra discounts, early access to sales & superior customer support
• Flipkart invests in sustainability and CSR to establish a strong social image
• Flipkart introduced a daily trivia quiz. The quiz gives participants a chance to win discount coupons, gifts and Flipkart Super Coins

Marketing Tactics of Flipkart-

• Flipkart brings up its advertising platform called Brand Story Ads, on its mobile app. The platform will showcase tales of different brands in an interesting manner with content pictures and product guidelines
• The company always appears with its unique & innovative ad campaigns. Their famous ad campaign was “No kidding no worries”. In this campaign, kids were acting in adult roles. The motive of the campaign was to address the fears people generally have with online shopping and to create the ever-important aspect of trust
• They apply several digital marketing strategies to grow their customer base through which it shows ads to its target customers on social media platforms & Uses its app to send pop-ups notifications of the latest offers to its customers
• Flipkart engages its consumers through contests. Contests come with additional perks for consumers during the sale session

Conclusion

Flipkart is India’s biggest online store that has nailed its product offerings in terms of quality and variety both with the best prices. Their reach due to its wide product portfolio is commendable. The company has worked very well on the promotional mix and attracts consumers with different offers and sales. The company is performing well and with its effective marketing strategies, the company is sure to enjoy its outstanding position in the market. 

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