With Shopsy, Flipkart forays into social commerce

Amid the rise of social commerce in India, homegrown e-commerce marketplace Flipkart has announced the launch of Shopsy, an app that it claims will help users start an online business without any investment.

With Shopsy, users can share catalogues of a wide selection of 15 crore products offered by Flipkart sellers, ranging across fashion, beauty, mobiles, electronics and home, among others with potential customers via popular social media and messaging apps, the Walmart-backed company said in a statement.

Shopsy users can share catalogue with potential customers, place orders on their behalf and earn commissions on the transactions. The commission percentage will vary depending on the category of products being ordered, the company said.

“Over the last many years, Flipkart has been committed to contributing towards creating direct and indirect employment opportunities across the country. Shopsy is launched to further that vision and provide additional earning opportunities for millions of enterprising Indians. Now, anyone from anywhere can start their online business with zero investment,” Prakash Sikaria, senior vice president - growth and monetization, Flipkart, said.

The development comes at a time when social commerce platforms such as Meesho, DealShare and others are gaining a lot of traction and are looking to tap into the growing e-commerce demands from non-metros.

Meesho recently raised a $300 million round led by SoftBank, which is also in talks to invest in IPO-bound Flipkart.  

The space has also seen competition from influencer-led ecommerce platforms such as Bulbulshop as well as content-led commerce models from the likes of short video app Trell.