Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart Debuts Metaverse Shopping "Flipverse"

Flipkart has introduced a Metaverse service for users to more interactively find and shop new items, the Indian e-commerce giant’s latest gamble, as it experiments with web3 solutions to improve its customer experience.

The Walmart-backed Bengaluru-based startup has collaborated with eDAO, a Polygon-incubated firm, to deliver the Flipverse metaverse product. The service is in the experimental stage and is intended to generate interest over the holiday season this month.

Flipverse, which will be available on Flipkart’s Android app on Monday, will provide users with “gamified, dynamic, and immersive” experiences in which they can collect the company’s loyalty points – Supercoins — as well as digital collectibles from partner businesses when they make purchases. Flipverse also has a selection of casual games.

Flipkart said Monday that “a wide range of companies,” including Puma, Noise, Nivea, Lavie, Tokyo Talkies, Campus, VIP, Ajmal Perfumes, and Himalaya, are collaborating to open experience theatres on Flipverse.

The business stated, “The objective is to have millions of consumers experience Flipverse and open the doors to the future of commerce.” The company’s management admitted that its web3 solutions are still in the early stages, but they are sure they will become an important part of Flipkart’s future.

“We were the first Indian business to begin Web 2.0-based commerce 15 years ago. And I believe we are the first firm to introduce web 3.0 commerce today,” stated a Flipkart official at the press conference.

Flipkart and its main competition in India, Amazon, are expanding their services to reach new clients in the South Asian market and keep current customers. Late this month, Amazon introduced a QVC-style Livestream shopping experience in India, deploying an army of more than 150 producers to present live streams and pitch items in the broadcasts.

“While we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible in the metaverse, we view e-commerce as one of the game changers.” The combination of prominent brands and Flipkart’s e-commerce capabilities in a virtual environment has the potential to transform online shopping as we know it. In a statement, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal stated, “Flipverse will be a bright, visual embodiment of the metaverse, and I’m thrilled that this activation is taking place on Polygon.”

The expanded collaboration with Flipkart is Polygon’s latest victory in its relentless pursuit of huge companies. The Ethereum scaling platform has recently worked with several companies, including Stripe, Meta, and Starbucks.

Flipverse is not Flipkart’s first venture into web3. Earlier this year, the business collaborated with Carl Pei’s Nothing to provide special NFTs to individuals who purchased the smartphone on the platform.

“The immersive technologies of today will affect the future growth of e-commerce, and Metaverse is one of the important revolutions in this sector with great promise,” said Naren Ravula, VP and head of Product Strategy and Deployment at Flipkart Labs, in a statement.

“With the adoption of the metaverse and web3 platforms by many businesses in India, the debut of Flipverse will continue to influence innovative industries such as e-commerce and enhance the consumer experience while giving a gamified and immersive purchasing experience. We hope to improve customers’ shopping experiences in a virtual and immersive context by giving them access to their favorite brands, deals, SuperCoins, and digital collectibles.”

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