Flipkart blends social with shopping, launches Ping
Ping is now available on Flipkart's Android app, and requires an invite, reports Tech in Asia
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Flipkart's Ping Team. Image via Tech in Asia
Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart today announced that it launched Ping, which is designed as a fun new way to shop with friends. With this move, the seven-year-old start-up is attempting to make online shopping a more social affair.
“Shopping is primarily a social activity and going for it with friends and family has been the norm since time immemorial. Online shopping, on the other hand, has largely remained a solo experience. Ping aims to transform online shopping by allowing users to talk to each other [in] real-time in order to make decisions and decide on what to buy,” said Flipkart’s chief product officer, Punit Soni.
Ping is now available on Flipkart’s Android app, and requires an invite.
Messaging apps are growing fast across India as smartphone usage booms. WhatsApp appears to lead the way with at least 70 million active users in India, chased hard by Facebook Messenger, Line, WeChat, Viber, Nimbuzz and Hike.
Mobile First
Within Ping, people can message friends using text, photos and emoticons. Users can drag and drop products from Flipkart directly into a conversation in the social network. Shoppers can then share the screen with friends to browse together and make a purchase decision.
The messaging feature is the latest in a string of new things that Flipkart has injected into its mobile apps. Flipkart has added an image search feature that allows users to upload an image of a product they are looking for and receive what the algorithm believes are relevant findings.
This has been excerpted from Tech in Asia. You can read the article here.
This has been excerpted from Tech in Asia. You can read the article here.
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First Published: Aug 25 2015 | 4:52 PM IST