Bengaluru January 28, 2022: Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of India's homegrown Flipkart Group, today announced the introduction of the Voice Search feature on its platform. This new capability, currently available in English and Hindi, will help kiranas and retailers utilize the search function more effectively, making it easier to transact on the platform. As India tackles the third wave, this new feature will also enable them to access a wide range of value-based products from the safety and convenience of their premises.

While technology penetration across the country increases, a majority of internet users, including kiranas and MSMEs, are from non-English speaking backgrounds. The Voice Search will make the journey more convenient for them as varying proficiency in English makes it challenging to perform searches using text input. Hence, solving the language barrier becomes critical to enable access to the full benefits of technology platforms for the target communities.

Flipkart Wholesale has been at the forefront in leveraging technology to solve pain points in B2B e-commerce transactions. The introduction of Voice Search using commands in Hindi and English is yet another technology innovation that reinforces the platform's core proposition of "Business Banaye Aasaan". Additionally, the platform offers quick credit support through a wholly digital process.

Commenting on the launch, Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice-President and Head Flipkart Wholesale, said, "Our core value proposition lies in offering a hassle-free shopping experience on the app through new technologies and innovations. At Flipkart, we are committed to address the problem areas our members face and deliver value to them. The launch of Voice Search is one such tech initiative that will help cater to the heterogeneous user population, making their e-commerce journey with Flipkart even simpler. As a technology enabler, we will continue to create more such innovations that will make digital commerce more inclusive, accessible, and convenient for existing as well as new customers."

How it works: For example, a user who may have low proficiency in English can utilize the voice search function to directly speak to the app. The customer can say "Cheeni chahiye" following which, the app will be able to showcase sugar product results similar to how the result will be if searched through typing.

Launched in 2020, Flipkart Wholesale expanded its reach at a rapid pace to serve kiranas and MSMEs. The members are increasingly adopting e-commerce as their preferred mode of purchase, enabling Flipkart Wholesale to strengthen its position day-by-day. The platform offers a wide range of selection across categories spanning the length and breadth of everything that consumers need be it Fashion, grocery or general merchandise. Today, Flipkart Wholesale serves over 1.5 million members across the country, which include kiranas, HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and cafeterias) and O&I (offices and institutions).

Flipkart Wholesale leverages the Flipkart Group's experience, understanding of the industry and ability in the digital space to serve kiranas and retailers better. The digital platform offers a lucrative pan-India marketplace, efficient supply chain network with assured quality, speedy delivery and hassle-free returns. The market insights offered through the platform also help both brands and kiranas make informed decisions on products that are in demand. With a digital approach to democratize credit access, Flipkart Wholesale has rolled out an array of initiatives.

About the Flipkart Group

The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+ and Cleartrip. The Group is also a majority shareholder in PhonePe, one of the leading Payments Apps in India. Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India's digital commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of more than 400 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Our efforts to democratize commerce in India, drive access and affordability, delight customers, create lakhs of jobs in the ecosystem, and empower generations of entrepreneurs and MSMEs have inspired us to innovate on many industry firsts. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns customer-centric innovations have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with its group companies, Flipkart is committed to transforming commerce in India through technology.

For more information, please contact media@flipkart.com.