Abstract

The case ‘Flipkart – Making Shopping Affordable for Tier II Shoppers’ briefly describes Flipkart’s long-term business strategy to become a value player in the Tier-II and III cities of India. The case delves specifically into the various credit products offered by the e-tailer to attract more buyers from Tier-II cities to its e-commerce platform. These include partnerships with a number of large banks to offer equated monthly installments (EMIs) on debit cards, zero interest or no cost EMIs, and payment options through Paytm to buyers. The case also focuses on certain strategic moves by Flipkart to improve affordability and convenience for small town shoppers, including launching ‘Flipkart Pay Later’ and applying for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license. The case ends with a look at Flipkart’s continuing efforts to scale up the GMV (gross merchandise value), bring more medium and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) onto its platform, and focus on video commerce aimed at consumers from small towns and lower-income groups.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the benefits of aligning corporate and marketing strategy
• Learn about the factors influencing online buyer behavior
• Become aware of the need to offer affordability and convenience to online shoppers
• Understand the need to offer credit and financing options to build buyer and seller loyalty
• Gain an understanding of how to build an e-commerce ecosystem

Keywords

Online Retailing; Online Buyer Behavior; Business Strategy; Online Partners; Demographic Segmentation; Credit Products; Online Payment Options; Online Returns; Customer Value; Growth Strategy; Social Commerce