Flipkart's Shopsy bets on AI to win India's next 100 million shoppers

The platform is moving beyond offers-led commerce with gamified shopping and personalised discovery aimed at Gen Z and smaller cities

Flipkart’s Shopsy is repositioning itself as an artificial intelligence-led shopping platform as it looks to deepen engagement among India’s next wave of online consumers. The company said the app is moving beyond offers-led commerce to a more engaging experience aimed at young, value-conscious shoppers across metros and smaller cities.

 

“We are not just building for Tier 4 or Tier 3 — we are building for India. The goal is to understand the intrinsic intent of every customer, regardless of who they are,” Ramesh Gururaja, senior vice-president, Flipkart, told Business Standard. “It is about surfacing the right product from our vast selection and processing that signal in real time to offer more choices. Whether someone shares an Instagram reel, a photo, a voice query, or just types ‘yellow kurti’ — we want every modality to work. The technology’s job is to have a conversation with the consumer, just like a good shopkeeper would.”

 

India’s e-commerce market is being reshaped by three trends: Tier-2 and smaller cities now account for 65 per cent of new shopper growth, Gen Z represents nearly half of India’s online shopper base, and trust remains a barrier to digital commerce. Flipkart said Shopsy’s revamped app is designed around those shifts, combining AI-led discovery, video-led shopping, personalisation and rewards to target Gen Z consumers and the next 100 million shoppers coming online across Bharat. The technology push is also expected to strengthen Shopsy’s position against rivals, including Meesho, Amazon and Reliance’s JioMart.

 

“Consumer intent is sharper than ever and consumers get influenced across a wide spectrum — from celebrities to content creators,” said Kapil Thirani, vice-president, Shopsy and Flipkart Marketplace. “What sets us apart is our catalogue depth — one of the largest in Indian e-commerce. If we can marry that catalogue with the right inspiration at the right moment, consumers will keep coming back. Better imagery, richer videos, and large language model-powered catalogue attributes are all coming together at the best possible time for e-commerce.”

 

Flipkart said it redesigned Shopsy around how consumers across Bharat discover and shop online. Product pages now focus more on imagery, customer content and video. AI-powered search and personalisation are designed to surface more relevant products based on shopper intent, regional preferences and local language behaviour. The company said the changes aim to make shopping more intuitive and build trust before purchase.

 

Balaji Thiagarajan, chief technology and product officer, Flipkart, said Gen Z now accounts for nearly 40-45 per cent of India’s e-retail market, and this cohort has distinct shopping preferences. They discover through video, engage through immersive experiences, and gravitate towards interactive shopping experiences.

 

“Shopsy’s new AI-powered personalisation understands the diverse ways Indian consumers think, browse, and shop across regions and cohorts,” said Thiagarajan. “With AI-native discovery and a gamified rewards system built into the core experience, the new Shopsy app is engineered to let technology adapt to the customer, rather than the other way around.”

 

Shopsy has embedded gamification into the shopping experience rather than treating it as a separate feature. The app uses games, rewards and personalised onboarding to increase engagement and product discovery. Users earn SuperCoins through actions such as app visits and activity streaks, which can be redeemed against purchases. The company said the experience is designed to improve conversion and encourage repeat visits.

 

“With Shopsy, we are building a games-led commerce ecosystem where every interaction, especially gameplay, adds tangible value,” said Sakait Chaudhary, senior vice-president, softlines, grocery, marketplace and Shopsy, Flipkart.

 

Flipkart said the revamped Shopsy app is also aimed at expanding opportunities for sellers by improving product discovery and conversion through video-led catalogues and AI-powered recommendations. The company said the tools are intended to make advanced merchandising capabilities more accessible to smaller businesses and regional sellers.

 

Shopsy said it continues to operate on a zero-commission model, where its seller network sources directly from manufacturers, and its simplified rate structure is designed to keep the cost of doing business low.