Flipkart introduces Marathi on its app, days after Amazon faced ire

Marathi is significant for it is the third most widely spoken language in India.

Flipkart on Thursday said customers could now use Marathi for its services, making the announcement days after rival Amazon faced ire for not offering its shopping app in one of India’s most widely spoken languages.

Flipkart app is now accessible in six major languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. The Walmart-owned firm said it is further strengthening its commitment to making online commerce more inclusive and accessible for Indian consumers.

The addition of Marathi is especially significant as it is the third most widely spoken language in India, according to the 2011 Census. Flipkart has utilised a mix of translation and transliteration of over 5.4 million words to offer a personal and colloquial e-commerce experience for millions of Flipkart users. Built on Flipkart’s ‘Localisation and Translation Platform’, customers can now have an easy end-to-end e-commerce experience in Marathi.

“As part of our continuing efforts to innovate and bring e-commerce closer to customers in Bharat, we have significantly expanded our vernacular language universe over the past two years,” said Jeyandran Venugopal, chief product and technology officer at Flipkart. “The addition of Marathi on the platform as one of the six language offerings reflects our commitment towards making e-commerce more inclusive and will play a crucial role in removing language barriers.”