Flipkart to roll out loyalty programme ‘Lock-In’: What happened to Flipkart First?

Flipkart is planning to launch a loyalty programme tentatively named ‘Lock-In’ to attract and retain frequent buyers. The programme is slated to bundle a slew of prime services including free and faster deliveries as well as early access to deals amongst others.

The Walmart-owned company has already allocated Rs 1,178 crore already for the yet to be launched loyalty programme, reports ET.

Sources indicate Entrackr that the loyalty programme will also let frequent buyers at Flipkart redeem the same, on other platforms such as MakeMyTrip and BookMyShow.

Interestingly, Flipkart has also been working on Flipkart First - a subscription-based loyalty programme. The company has been staging the pilot over the past months. The Flipkart First link is available at the website footer.

According to The Ken report published in December 2017, Flipkart First will also allow access to MakeMyTrip’s DoubleBlack—a membership scheme which gives free cancellation on domestic flights and hotels.

Flipkart First already includes services such as free shipping, within-a-day delivery, discounted same-day delivery as well as priority customer service.

So, the question is, why does it need a different product -- ‘Lock In’ -- for offering parallel services?

Consumer behaviour and experts have emphasised that gaining loyalty in e-commerce segment is difficult in this country because Indian consumers care more about deals and discounts.

When Amazon launched its loyalty programme (Amazon Prime) last year, observers and the media were skeptical about its success. They presumed, people were unlikely to pay for delivery, convenience, and premium content. Nevertheless, Amazon proved the speculations wrong. Frequent shoppers didn’t hesitate in subscribing to Amazon Prime which has garnered around 8 million users.

Flipkart-owned fashion retailer Myntra has also been working on launching its own loyalty programme. This soon-to-be-launched loyalty programme will be fashion-specific and will differ from existing programmes in the market.

We are unsure whether Flipkart will run both the loyalty programs- Flipkart First and  ‘Lock-In’. It is unlikely that a company will have two products for the same purpose, at the same time.