Flipkart paves the way for Web 3.0 in eCommerce
The rise of Web 3.0 is impacting all businesses and industries. It can reimagine the online shopping experience for users and Flipkart is one of the companies leading this change.
The company has announced a strategic partnership with the blockchain platform Polygon to explore the application of Web 3.0 with eCommerce. But this isn’t Flipkart’s first foray into Web 3.0. In the last 1 year, Flipkart has launched Firedrops and Flipverse. And partnering with a leading blockchain infrastructure is a sign that Flipkart is not slowing down to bring innovations and make Web 3.0 a reality in India.
Let’s look at how Flipkart is using Web 3.0 to reimagine the online shopping experience.
FireDrops: A dedicated Web 3.0 platform with NFT offerings
FireDrops is a next-gen Web 3.0 platform from Flipkart. The company partnered with Nothing (a smartphone company) to introduce its NFT. Those who pre-booked the Nothing 1 smartphone received an NFT drop (called Nothing Community Dots) with access to exclusive benefits.
Later, FireDrops teamed up with Polygon-incubated eDAO, to host a “digital treasure hunt” as a warm-up for Flipkart’s Big Billion Days Sale. As shoppers progress in the treasure hunt, they were rewarded with virtual assets and limited-time collectibles. With Firedrops, Flipkart was pushing its community to recognize the potential of Web 3.0 and get acquainted with NFT technology.
Flipverse: online shopping on Metaverse
A month after the “digital treasure hunt”, the company launched Flipverse, a metaverse shopping experience for shoppers, hosted on FireDrops. Flipverse was a gamified version of online shopping, enabling users to immerse in a virtual world. The shopping event was live for one week for android users and saw participation from brands like Puma, Nivea, Noise, and Himalaya with more than 100 products listed. Nearly 500 users were streaming the Flipverse every minute during the 6-day event.
How is Flipkart planning to stay ahead of the curve on Web 3.0 technology?
The company’s recent success with Web 3.0 is a result of developments at Flipkart Labs. The division is a part of the Product Strategy & Deployment (PSD) arm and is testing Web 3.0 use cases in India. Eventually, they powered the launch of FireDrops and Flipverse and will be crucial for redefining online shopping for users when partnering with Polygon.
Flipkart X Polygon
In addition to the in-house Flipkart Labs to strategically build solutions for entering the next generation of the Web, the eCommerce giant is partnering with global blockchain leaders Polygon to establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) in India. This partnership will undertake research and development of Web 3.0 and metaverse commerce cases in India.
Web 3.0 presents a unique opportunity to take advantage of the latest technological developments and eCommerce giants have innovated on this front to bring an immersive and advanced shopping experience for users. During the festive sales of 2022, shoppers in India got a glimpse of the metaverse. Flipkart developed Flipverse while Amazon introduced AmazonMetaworld.
With Polygon now, Flipkart’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) will speed up Web 3.0 adoption for eCommerce use cases in India and transform the shopping experiences for millions of shoppers.