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Flipkart: Reimagining the Digital Custom...

Venkatesan, Rajkum...

Case

Flipkart: Reimagining the Digital Customer Experience

Venkatesan, Rajkumar; Kemp, Bianca

M-1047 | Published March 13, 2024 | 23 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This field-based case recounts the story of two executives facing a critical decision at Walmart-backed, India-based Flipkart Online Services Private Limited (Flipkart), an expanding e-commerce company. After easily onboarding the company’s first 200 million customers, they must decide how best to attract and retain Flipkart’s next cohort, who are generally younger, have less disposable income, are more comfortable speaking native Indian languages, and have very different shopping patterns. The executives are considering two initiatives: an AI-powered voice feature and video-led shopping experiments. Which of the two can be justified both strategically and financially for the long term, as well as sustain itself without company subsidization? Can Flipkart do both? If it can, should it? At the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, this case is taught in a first- and second-year MBA elective called “Digital Marketing.” It would also be suitable in a module covering the AI-enabled customer experience or digital ROI.

The objectives of the case discussion are as follows: Evaluate the strategic and financial return (i.e., ROI) of digital and AI initiatives. Understand the economics of AI products. Evaluate the necessary ingredients for building AI and video commerce capabilities. Discuss the value created by digital technologies at different stages of the customer funnel. Prioritize investments in customer-experience initiatives.