Flipkart which early this year took over the wholesale business from its parent company Walmart is claiming good business on that front.
In all, Flipkart Group’s B2B businesses — Flipkart Wholesale and ‘Best Price’ cash-and-carry stores — have witnessed an increased uptake of e-commerce in 2020.
Flipkart Wholesale app saw 75% month-on-month growth in customer base since its launch in September, the company said in a press statement today. This growth reflects the faith that kirana shops have in e-commerce.
Flipkart has 29 ‘Best Price’ shops in 9 States across the country, and serves kiranas, offices & institutions, and hotels, restaurants and caterers through a membership model. Best Price’s suppliers are mostly MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).
Flipkart Wholesale businesses do well
Speaking about the increased adoption of e-commerce at Flipkart’s B2B businesses this year, Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice-President and Head, Flipkart Wholesale and Walmart India, said, “At Best Price, during the lockdown, we encouraged members to place orders on our e-commerce platform and have products delivered to them. We also launched a revamped Best Price app and website and saw order volumes surge through our e-commerce channels. Our members adapted very quickly to ordering online and we believe this trend will continue going forward.”
He added that Flipkart Wholesale, launched in September, has also seen tremendous success from retailers who can now order fashion products just at the touch of a button.
Flipkart Wholesale app which currently offers fashion products — clothing, footwear and accessories — to retailers across 23 cities has also just launched the grocery category in NCR on its platform.
Flipkart Wholesale has already recorded 50% month-on-month growth in fashion category suppliers and enabled 2.5 lakh listings on its platform since its launch.
Tier 2 and 3 cities see good e-commerce adoption
Flipkart said its Wholesale app has become a success with 90% month-on-month growth in transactions on its platform. Encouraging trends have emerged from retailers in small towns who have taken onto e-commerce as a preferred mode to do business at ease, it said.
In fact, one in every five customers on Flipkart Wholesale is from tier 2 or tier 3 cities.
E-commerce adoption by Best Price members grew over 10 times across 29 stores, with smaller towns such as Meerut, Kota, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Aurangabad, Karimnagar, Amravati and Vijayawada accounting for a large part of the e-commerce traction.
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