Flipkart announces free loyalty plan 'Flipkart Plus' to fight Amazon Prime

After not having a good show first time around, home-grown e-tailer Flipkart is all set to launch a second loyalty programme called Flipkart Plus, which will have no charge. The programme is scheduled to be launched on August 15 this year.

The loyalty programme will be point-based, where customers will earn plus coins with each order. The points will allow members to access benefits across categories available on the platform. Customers will get many services including free and quicker delivery, early access sales on the marketplace, and priority customer support.

"As you shop more, you earn more Plus points. And with more Plus points, you unlock key rewards and benefits,” Shoumyan Biswas, head of advertising, marketing and Plus at Flipkart to Mint.

Talking about Flipkart second attempt at loyalty programme, Biswas said this would be different from Flipkart First. "It is not just to provide benefits which are on the platform, but outside the platform as well. And also, we decided to shave off the membership fee. These are some changes we’ve made,” he added.

Entrackr had earlier reported that Flipkart was planning to relaunch its loyalty programme to take on Amazon Prime.

This is second attempt by the e-tailer. Earlier in 2014, it had launched an annual subscription service called Flipkart First at Rs 500 offering free shipping, 60-day replacement guarantee, apart from priority customer service.

Through loyalty programme, Flipkart is targeting its rival Prime services, which gives away many services including movie streaming, music streaming, priority delivery, exclusive deals at Rs 129 a month, and Rs 999 for a year and hit among its users.

The Prime programme helped Amazon garnered about 8 million users. Its success led to a slew of similar programmes launch across segments. Flipkart-owned fashion retailers Myntra and Jabong are also working on their loyalty programmes.

On Monday Foodtech firm Swiggy launched its membership program Swiggy SUPER, with one-month and three-month subscription plans, costing between Rs 99 – Rs 149 per month. The programme will allow users to get unlimited free deliveries irrespective of the distance or time of day.

Its rival Zomato, after having a successful outing with Zomato Gold, the Alibaba-backed firm launched another loyalty programme – Zomato Piggybank. It allows users to earn points and save about 10 per cent on every online order.

Last year cab aggregator Uber also launched a loyalty programme to engage more users. In 2016, Ola had started Ola select offering priority booking, Prime cabs at Mini fares, free WiFi, priority support, airport lounge access, top drivers and cars.

Meanwhile, payment firm Paytm had partnered Dharma Production to shell out 25 per cent cashback (up to Rs 300) for latter’s next 5 releases. A couple of months ago, Paytm had introduced Moviepass that allows subscribers to watch movies at a discounted rate.