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Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart plans to start a free Indian video streaming service in coming months, escalating a fight with Amazon.com Inc. by borrowing its arch-foe’s tactics.
India’s biggest online retailer plans to roll out video streaming for members of its Flipkart Plus loyalty program by September ahead of the peak Diwali shopping season, people familiar with its plans said. The service is currently in beta mode, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal strategy.
Flipkart Online Services Pvt is getting into a red-hot market but playing catch-up by taking a page from Amazon’s playbook. The US retailer’s Prime Video service had for years proven instrumental in retaining shoppers and attracting new ones. A streaming offering could help level the playing field with Amazon, which for years has devised award-winning shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for global audiences.
Flipkart won’t initially produce originals -- a route that’s proven costly for online platforms including Netflix Inc. -- and instead license content from the likes of Walt Disney Co. and local studios such as Balaji Telefilms, the people said. In-house content could come later, they added. The news was reported earlier Monday by Money Control.
In a departure from Amazon Prime, Flipkart Plus video-streaming will come free just like its no-subscription fee loyalty program. Flipkart shoppers can become members by amassing 300 “super coins," at a rate of 2 for every ₹100 spent on its platform. Users can exchange those tokens for items from flight tickets and food delivery to car rentals and music streaming subscriptions. And, again unlike its rival, the Indian company doesn’t automatically offer deals on shipping, with free delivery limited to only very few products.
Flipkart Plus launched its rewards program in 2018 when Amazon Prime was already an established presence in India, boasting original shows and a library of Bollywood and regional language films to go along with international fare. The service costs ₹999 annually or ₹129 a month.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
India’s biggest online retailer plans to roll out video streaming for members of its Flipkart Plus loyalty program by September ahead of the peak Diwali shopping season, people familiar with its plans said. The service is currently in beta mode, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal strategy.
Flipkart Online Services Pvt is getting into a red-hot market but playing catch-up by taking a page from Amazon’s playbook. The US retailer’s Prime Video service had for years proven instrumental in retaining shoppers and attracting new ones. A streaming offering could help level the playing field with Amazon, which for years has devised award-winning shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for global audiences.
Flipkart won’t initially produce originals -- a route that’s proven costly for online platforms including Netflix Inc. -- and instead license content from the likes of Walt Disney Co. and local studios such as Balaji Telefilms, the people said. In-house content could come later, they added. The news was reported earlier Monday by Money Control.
In a departure from Amazon Prime, Flipkart Plus video-streaming will come free just like its no-subscription fee loyalty program. Flipkart shoppers can become members by amassing 300 “super coins," at a rate of 2 for every ₹100 spent on its platform. Users can exchange those tokens for items from flight tickets and food delivery to car rentals and music streaming subscriptions. And, again unlike its rival, the Indian company doesn’t automatically offer deals on shipping, with free delivery limited to only very few products.
Flipkart Plus launched its rewards program in 2018 when Amazon Prime was already an established presence in India, boasting original shows and a library of Bollywood and regional language films to go along with international fare. The service costs ₹999 annually or ₹129 a month.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
