Flipkart Revenue Model :
Among the top three unicorns in India, Flipkart is one of them. It can be referred to as one of the most successful startups in India. It is an online E-commerce platform wherein the customers can buy and buyers can sell multiple products on the online platform. Flipkart was founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal and is a startup online company which is registered in Singapore and has its headquarters in Bangalore, India.
Initially, the company was started out as an online bookstore and through years, it has reached the equivalent position to Amazon in India with an array of around 20 million products across the range of more than seventy categories.
Flipkart Strategy :
Flipkart had spent years raising money in the form of million dollars and has now tapped into the expansion of the online market in India by targeting to obtain more investment. The company’s strategy is to raise as much as 1 billion US dollars to fund various businesses and organizations in India. The main target of Flipkart is to take the top position in India by replacing Amazon as the leading E-commerce website and marketplace for the buyers and the sellers.
Flipkart Business Model:-
The online platform of the Flipkart is a B2C (buyer to consumer) model which provides ample shopping opportunities to the Indian consumers in an effective manner. As a popular online marketplace, Flipkart also allows the various sellers from across the country to sell their products under different categories on the online platform. It also encourages the sellers to provide various attractive discounts to the buyers or the consumers such that their products are sold off and they earn substantial profits. The sellers get certain amounts from Flipkart after the deduction of the commission by Flipkart for the services provided to the sellers and this online platform is a B2C.
The various options for selling and buying through Flipkart are through
1) Flipkart website
2) The web app
3) The mobile app
4) Social websites
5) Affiliated networks: Like review websites, coupon websites, bloggers, etc.
The percentage of the commission charged by Flipkart varies from the type of products and type of sales. It may range to 5-20% excluding taxes and discounts.
This is the basic manner in which Flipkart earn its bread butter.
Flipkart’s other sources of income:
The e-commerce portal generates revenue not just by selling products but has various revenue channels, some of which includes:
Web portal: as it provides a platform to its sellers, it charges a commission for all the services given to them. This is the basic source of revenue of Flipkart.
Listing and convenience fee: this is another method of revenue to the company; it charges some amount of listing fee to its sellers and convenience fee to the buyers for faster delivery. The convenience fee also includes the gift wrapping charges, billings that add up to the total revenue of the company.
Logistics: this is an amount collected from the sellers for shipping their products. It provides services to its sellers which are similar to other delivery courier companies. The charges of delivery services vary from place to place and the distance required to be covered.
Digital media: it sells ads to the sellers or brands as well as various products such as co-advertising, co-branding, etc. the ads are put into 3 categories:
Co-branded opportunities on the Flipkart’s homepage: here the slider of the Flipkart’s homepage introduces a chance for advancement to the sellers, product launches, and various brands to show up on their page which gets millions of views on daily basis.
Co-advertised products towards publications: these are the ads that are shared by the newspapers and magazines’ front pages and allow the brands to advertise themselves. Suppose a new phone has been launched in the market. Flipkart gets its ad on the front page of the newspaper and the cost is actually shared with the brand that has to advertise the product.
Target search results: this works like when you type to search for a product, Flipkart decides which sellers’ products are to be shown on the top. This is the space that will be solved by Flipkart in the near future.
Cash and carry: this is the wholesale division of Flipkart. The revenue earning methods is the same as it earns from the B2C transactions. The only difference here is that here B2B transactions take place.
Flipkart Future Model:-
Flipkart launches the various options taken by Flipkart while formulating its business model include: Flipkart Offers
Enhancing the overall website of Flipkart.
Introducing the web app to the users.
Introducing the mobile app to the consumers and the optimization of the same.
Promotions of the products and services on the various social websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and much more.
Proper offline advertisements and promotions based on banners and TV advertisements.
Making use of affiliate networks like coupon websites, review websites, bloggers and much more.
As per the progressive business model offered by Flipkart, the percentage of the commission charged by Flipkart from various sellers on its online portal might vary from the type of products and the type of sales.
It usually ranges from around 5-20 percent based on the type of services availed by the sellers. In the business model, Flipkart has also introduced the various other forms of income like the marketplace, charging the listing and convenience fees, logistics from the consumers, digital media like the co-advertised products, Myntra – another E-commerce website owned by Flipkart and much more.
Flipkart to raise 1$ Billion:-
Flipkart Founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, Flipkart is an e-commerce company which is registered in Singapore and has its headquarter in Bangalore (India). Initially, the company was an online bookstore which has now come of age and operates through a complex structure of the business with 20 million products across 70+ categories at its disposal.
Enhancing the overall website of Flipkart.
After years of raising millions of dollars to tap into the expanding online market in India, Flipkart targets to pick up more investment. The company is about to raise up to $1 billion for funding its business and seize competition from the global giant Amazon and the local rival Snapdeal.
Promotions of the products and services on the various social websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and much more.
Proper offline advertisements and promotions based on banners and TV advertisements.
Making use of affiliate networks like coupon websites, review websites, bloggers and much more.
As per the progressive business model offered by Flipkart, the percentage of the commission charged by Flipkart from various sellers on its online portal might vary from the type of products and the type of sales.
One of the other big reasons for Flipkart to raise such huge funds is its competitor, Amazon.in. Amazon is growing way too fast in the Indian-subcontinent which is bankrolled in billions by Amazon US. Most recently Jeff Bezos announced $3 billion in new investments sending a strong message that he wants to win India at all cost. With Snapdeal funded majorly by Softbank and Alibaba are a close third. A lot depends on execution and execution needs a war chest to beef up e-commerce infrastructure ranging from Logistics, Warehouses Customer support, returns handling, technology infrastructures up-gradations and hiring talented workforce and outspace and innovate the competition.
Flipkart why want so much money:-
FE-Commerce is still evolving which means Flipkart cannot fund all of these through its core business and without on-time expansion, it won’t last long in the market with Amazon gaining the market share with heaps and bounds.
Losing a major chunk of its value!
Valued at $15 billion last year when it raised $700 million from Qatar Investment Authority, Tiger Global Management, and other investors, Morgan Stanley has marked down the value from $103.97 per share as of 31 December last year to $87.9 per share as of 31 March this year. Hence, valuation has dipped to $9.5 billion, pushing it back to the 2014 level.
From an online bookstore to multibillion-dollar E-commerce portal!
Flipkart initially started with selling books online. The ambitious online portal soon expanded by offering a range of goods. It also acquired companies like LetsBuy.com, Myntra.com, etc., to mark its presence in the Indian market. Its journey from a book e-retailer to the largest e-commerce portal inspires and encourages a generation of start-ups. Flipkart’s story demonstrates that a great idea backed with hard work can provide you with great success infrastructures up-gradations and hiring talented workforce and outspace and innovate the competition.
Why Flipkart is in criticism:
The company is facing a blizzard of its own making: It is now facing a momentous management shakeup at the top. An organization which pioneered e-commerce in India, growth has hindered since the last year and the management team till now has not figured out ways to re-energize sales. The company’s innovation engine is quite long. In e-commerce lingo, the GMV (gross merchandise volume) sold during a period of time has not increased considerably. In a non-virtual world, this is can be referred to as a scenario where the revenue or sales numbers aren’t growing. This is very strange for an e-commerce pioneer which until now has raised its GMV by over 200 percent annually for the past three years. The very nation which made the company a roaring success in the initial stage of its existence is now deterring its progress.
The discomfiture of wasting its first-mover advantage to a company like Amazon would only intensify the crisis steeping inside. And most likely may force investors to think for make-or-break solutions.
Payment Gateway of Flipkart
The payment gateway of Flipkart is the PayZippy that provides payment services to Flipkart. They charge a small amount of fee for every transaction processed. The rates vary for the different modes of payment like in the case of a debit card or net banking it is the lowest as compared to other modes. It varies from 0.75% to 1% for debit card and net banking whereas ranges from 1.5% to 2.25% for every transaction made through a credit card. The American Express cards are charged from 3-3.5%. Thus depending upon the mode of payment chosen by the consumer, the websites make payment of the transaction fee.
Product launch by Flipkart
As the website Flipkart has a number of views, visits, and liked by its users every day, it offers an amazing platform to launch new products over this website portal. Various brands find it easier to launch their products from Flipkart. For example, Xiomi has launched all its phones over Flipkart with an exclusive partnership in India. Here, this online portal earned its revenue by getting a share in the revenue margins of Xiomi along with the advertisement and launching share over its platform.
2015 FY results:
The online retail store, Flipkart, is a Singapore-based company that has conceived a complex network of much inter-connected and few allegedly independent companies accumulating a huge amount of money to develop interspersed e-commerce business.
Getting back on track!
Despite the huge losses, Flipkart will be able to make a turnaround with a change in policies and working strategies. Some of the factors that can turn get profits to
Flipkart is followed:
Flipkart has to tie up with more of local vendors reducing its sales from WS retails, which is the largest supplier of the company presently. This is because this retail store took 80% of its logistics and delivery networks. Transferring the work to local vendors will reduce its time taken for delivery as well as its money loss.
Based on the online searches for products over the platform, the tech teams of Flipkart should build technology to serve paid ads product based on keywords.
Another step taken by Flipkart is the purchase of AdiQuity firm for mobile advertising technology to not only improve its ad platform but also analyze the customer data and the shopping pattern of the customers.
It has been able to earn with the introduction of monthly and yearly subscriptions for the third party vendors to boost the earning level to a larger scale.
The deal between Flipkart and Airtel zero has been one of the factors that have started leading to huge profits due to the free app support.
Flipkart has anyhow created a brand value which is at the last most important for Indian consumers. Flipkart can take advantage of its brand value and work better with its consumer base. Thus with better brand value, Flipkart needs to just renew its services as it already has a good amount of visiting customers.
Flipkart Success:
Flipkart is one of the top online selling web portals in India. The company has produced a large amount of consumer satisfaction and loyalty with its services to the consumers such as cash on delivery options, faster delivery options, great discounts, return policies, refund policies, etc. all these factors have led to the success of Flipkart and the company is doing well in the market today. Customers can get any kind of product simply from one portal without many searching problems; this organization of various products into the categories makes it convenient for the consumer to find the product they need.
These factors have led to better working of the company and the company looks forward to better and more success in the market.
Flipkart Offers Helpline:-
Flipkart.com has a dedicated support email address for customer service:- cs@flipkart.com
Affiliate ID For Flipkart.com Affiliates Related Queries:- affiliate@flipkart.com
ID For Flipkart.com Vendors:- vendor@flipkart.com
ID For Other Business Queries:- business@flipkart.com
ID For Affiliate Marketing,e-Gift Voucher Queries:- egvmarketing@flipkart.com
Flipkart Registered Head Office Address:–
Flipkart has a head office in Bangalore. The address of their main office has been given below.
Flipkart Internet Private Limited:-
Vaishnavi Summit, 1st floor, 7th Main, Eighty Feet Road, 3rd Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru – 560034, India.
Telephone number:- 1800 208 9898
Customer Care Address:-
Flipkart Internet Private Limited, Ozone Manay Tech Park, #56/18 & 55/09, 7th Floor, Garvebhavipalya, Hosur Road, Bangalore – 560068, Karnataka, India
Flipkart Branch Location Address:-
Flipkart Kerala Office Address:–
MG Road,Ernakulam, Kochi ,Kerala, India
Flipkart Hyderabad Office Address:–
Mangalhat Road, Hyderabad, Telangana,India
Flipkart Mumbai Office Address:–
Sector 2, Kharghar,Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 410210, India
Flipkart Offers and Customer Care Way to Connect:-
Step 1- Click On https://www.flipkart.com/helpcentre
Step 2- Login hare with your user id and password.
Step 3- Here you have to choose that order for which you have to ask.
That's it.
After choosing the order a window will be displayed on screen namely with Call me back, Call us and Email Us. Select the mentioned option that is suitable for you and you will be connected to Flipkart Customer Care Service as soon as possible.
Contact Flipkart Customer Care from Flipkart App
Following are the steps to contact Flipkart Customer Care through Flipkart App.
Step 1- Launch Flipkart app on your smartphone and log in your account.
Step 2- Now, click on the three horizontal lines on the top left of your screen & then click on the Help Centre. You will be redirected to a new page.
Step 3- You will see all your orders. Click on the order which you want to inquire about.
Step 4- Now, you will be asked to select the issue which you are facing regarding your selected order.
Step 5- Once you select the issue, a short explanation depending on your issue will appear on your screen. If this explanation does not solve your query, go ahead and click on Contact Us at the bottom of the page.
Step 6- Now, select from the options (Call me back, Call us, and Email us), how you wish to contact Flipkart Customer Care.
For Online Chat Option:-
Step 1:- Go to My Orders
Step 2:- Click On Need help?
Step 3:- Click On Contact Us
Step 4:- Click on Chat with us
Flipkart Return Policy:-
Flipkart product returns process:-
Step 1- Log into Flipkart Account and then click on your Orders Tab.
Step 2- Click on Return to Create a request.
Step 3- Depending on the type of product you want to return, your return request may have to go through the verification process.
Step 4- After verification, you have to confirm your decision based on the category of the product ordered.
There are three options available for this-
(a.)Exchange:– Your order will be exchanged for a new same product of a different size or color.
(b.) Replace:- In your order, the product will be replaced with the same product if it is damaged (broken or bad) or defective (a functional problem that does not work) or is not described.
(c.)Refund:- If the product of your choice is unavailable in your preferred size or color or model, or if it is out of stock, then you can decide that you want to withdraw your money. In this scenario, you can choose a refund to return your money. (See Step 7.)
Step 5- Keep the necessary items ready for the smooth returning process, including invoices, original packaging, price tags, free gifts, accessories etc.
Step 6- Your order will be determined in the case of pick-up and delivery exchanges and replacement.
Step 7- Refund will be initiated and processed if applicable.
Step 8- Your request will be completed as per Flipkart’s Return / Replacement Guarantee.
Official Website and Social Media Accounts of Flipkart
Official website of Flipkart:- https://www.flipkart.com
twitter handler of Flipkart:- https://twitter.com/flipkart
Facebook pages of Flipkart:-https://www.facebook.com/flipkart
Watch YouTube videos of Flipkart on:-https://www.youtube.com/flipkart
Google Plus page of Flipkart:- https://plus.google.com/+flipkart
Instagram account of Flipkart link:- https://www.instagram.com/flipkart
What is Flipkart Assured?
Flipkart Assurance is a product that is tested and qualified for all Flipkart parameters before
being sold in the market. All the products sold under the “Flipkart Assurance” tag are from the internal process of quality assurance of Flipkart.
Occasionally, you will get a different product price and require additional quality, whether or not the products meet their quality standards or not. If the product is not suitable, then it is not sold in the market. (as Flipkart says)
In addition, Flipkart ensures that products are priority sales that are delivered very quickly.
Flipkart customer care number is accessible from Gorakhpur, Vijayawada, Vellore, Aurangabad, Tamil Nadu, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam, West Bengal, Kanpur, Gujarat, Jammu, Vadodara, Sangili, Coimbatore, Varanasi, Thane, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Nagpur, Jamshedpur, Delhi, Udaipur, Trichy, Madurai, Erode, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Indore, Cochin, Jharkhand, Nasik, Kolkata, Jaipur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, New Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Pune, Bihar, Raipur, Mysore, Faridabad, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gwalior, Surat, Rajkot, Ernakulum, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Maharashtra, Mangalore, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Lucknow,Agra, Kerala, Pondicherry, Salem, Ludhiana, Patna, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and more.
About the Author:
Yogesh Patil is the founder of Tech Media Corporation.
