India’s leading online fashion retailer, Myntra is retracting from the application only business model. The company has relaunched its mobile website in order to bring back the customers it lost due to the app only model.
This move comes nine months after the company owned by Flipkart shut down its e-commerce website in order to sell its products only via the mobile application. It triggered a debate among the other online retail startup companies if the application only model will work or backfire.
The head of products of Myntra, Ambarish Kenghe, stated that the company will stick to the strategy of being mobile-only. He stated that it has no plans to relaunch the desktop website. He added that they are focused on the mobile strategy and they want to get the customer experience in the right away. The customers will now be able to purchase on the mobile site as well. However, they will prompt the customers to download their application.
The experts claim that the relaunch of Myntra.com will help the company lure consumers who look for the brand using the search engines. There are many customers who are reluctant to download applications or uninstall them to free their smartphone memory. Those consumers who do not have the mobile application are redirected to download the application. This will be a dead end for the perspective company and also a lost opportunity for Myntra, stated a former Myntra official.
Another former official stated that the application only strategy failed but the mobile only strategy is a good one. If the impact of the app only strategy was significant, the company would not have moved back, stated the official.
Recently, the Myntra officials stated that the company will miss its target of reaching $1 billion annual GMV (gross merchandize value) in the current fiscal. The company has readjusted the target in order to reach the same mark by March 2017.
Ananth Narayanan, the Myntra CEO stated that they did lose customers, but the rate of growth of the mobile site has enabled them get new customers.
