Myntra to have chat-based shopping assistant on its mobile application

Retail therapy supposedly uplifts one’s mood and is the perfect solution for a gloomy day or situation. What makes it ideal is when one finds that perfect pair of sandals or shoes, or that perfect kurta or top, or that perfect pair of earrings. What makes the selection easier is when there is someone to advise you on what suits you and helps you find it. In other words, a personal shopper is the perfect companion on one’s shopping expedition.

Most luxury stores have the concept of a personal shopper who helps customers to browse through the store’s or brand’s collection to find what suits them. In its efforts to be the number one fashion destination in India, Myntra will soon offer the shopping assistant service to its customers to have an edge over others in the rapidly growing Indian ecommerce market.

Myntra plans to offer a chat-based personal shopping assistant on its mobile application through which customers will be hand-held through the entire browsing session on Myntra by an interactive artificial intelligence based shopping assistant.

In the past three months, 80% of Myntra’s growth was from its mobile application. In tune with growing popularity of mobile-based sales, Myntra’s team has planned to re-align its strategy and focus more on mobile-based ecommerce. 30% of every investment is allotted for mobile technology. For example, out of the current marketing budget of Rs 200 crore, Rs 60 crore has been set aside for mobile marketing.

In the next weeks, Myntra is preparing to launch its iOS and android applications.

Currently, sales from mobile contribute to about one-fourth of Myntra’s sales and is expected to increase as much as 40% by the end of this year. With an estimate of Rs 1,800 crore sales this fiscal, it is expected to increase to Rs 6,000 crores by the year 2016.

Mobile commerce – Shopping through mobile phones

Mobile shopping is a global phenomenon and is on the rise rapidly. In the last year, more than 35% of consumers accessed ecommerce sites through mobile devices. With smartphones and tablets being more accessible for consumers now, future shopping will be anytime anywhere.

However, despite the popularity, it is not without its set of challenges from a seller’s point of view. The extremely limited screen size limits the number of options that can be displayed in one shot. Hence, the user will have to browse longer to check out the different options. Hence, there is scope for irritation and impatience.

Online marketplaces and stores wishing to adapt to mobile commerce will have to optimize their offerings for mobile. They will have to solve challenges around user experience on mobile and provide easy and predictive navigation for users.

Benefit for Indian Online seller with Myntra’s chat-based shopping assistant

Recognising the potential and scope of mobile commerce, firms need to make the transition towards it to be successful and remain popular. A chat-based shopping assistant seems an apt and required move by Myntra to enhance user experience, thus ensuring its trust and popularity with its customers.