Date: 5th August 2019
As a way of capturing consumers in smaller cities, Flipkart, Walmart’s Indian unit, will introduce a free video streaming service on its mobile application this month, according to its statement on Monday. The e-commerce company currently has about 16 million customers in India.
Flipkart’s spokeswoman told reporters that introducing a video streaming service will allow the company to attract more audience to its e-commerce business. This is because many consumers go online to view video content.
Based in Bengaluru in India, Flipkart will allow customers to stream movies and web series on its mobile application but won’t produce its original content.
There is intense competition between e-commerce companies in the subcontinent. Therefore, there has been an increased focus on going beyond big cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi in search of growth. Most population in India has access to smartphones and the internet, resulting in making it a hub for internet-based companies.
A spokeswoman of the company said that it wouldn’t charge a subscription fee for the video streaming service. In addition to that, it will not introduce a new application for the same, like its competitor Amazon. Amazon launched its video streaming service named Prime Video which has a separate application and a subscription fee of 999 rupees per year.
Reports claim that the e-commerce company is ready to launch the service. The company will display content from Walt Disney, Balaji Telefilms and other such production houses, the reports said.