90 percent of new internet users in India are native language speakers
According to Industry research, 90 percent of new internet users in India are native language speakers. Hence the number is large; it is important to offer a native e-commerce experience to the users allowing them easy readability helping them in decision making.
On 3 September 2019, the Bengaluru based company announced Hindi based interface of its platform aiming to tap into the next 200 million customers coming online to experience e-commerce. The decision was made after months of intensive research and understanding the requirements of the native language customers. It is said that Hindi interface will be launched ahead of the festive sales. Further, the research revealed that the native language speakers are primarily from tier-II and III cities.
Hindi language user base is expected to grow
By 2021, it is expected that the Hindi language user base is expected to outgrow English. With the Hindi capability, the user will be able to see all the information and search for their desired products in Hindi.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group said, “We are committed to developing solutions that will help the adoption of e-commerce by next the 200 million consumers who come alive. We have deployed around 80-90 percent of our resources towards solving for Bharat with our Hindi interface being one of the biggest catalysts in this transition.” Further, he added, “As language is a convenience and not a barrier, Flipkart believes this native language capability will play a significant role in further adoption of e-commerce in the country.”
Flipkart acquires Liv.ai
Liv.ai is artificial intelligence (AI) start-up platform which helps in converting speech to text in 10 Indian languages. Last year, Flipkart had acquired Liv.ai with the intention of growing its consumer base and reaching to wider audience.
