E-commerce giant Flipkart announced the launch of 20 'experience zones' across the country, which will enable its 'Click and Collect' feature, letting consumers pick up their orders.
"Flipkart's alternate delivery model will allow customers to walk into their nearest experience centre and collect their shipments at their convenient time." Flipkart said in a statement.
Flipkart cited scenarios where the Click and Collect feature would be more ideal than delivery, such as restricted entry in IT parks, gated communities, and educational institutions. The experience zones will catapult customer convenience and have a positive impact on scale and reach in supply chain expansion, the company said.
"Getting logistics right is extremely crucial for e-commerce companies. Our efforts are focused on expanding our delivery network, without compromising on the customer service levels and expectation." said Neeraj Aggarwal, senior director, delivery operations at Flipkart.
The experience zones are now open in Bengaluru, Mysore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Vellore, Gurgaon, Vadodara, and Surat. The firm plans to open a total of 100 such stores by March 2016.
The service was piloted in conjunction with Flipkart's logistics arm, Ekart, over a period of six months during which over 80 percent of shipments were picked up through the stores, Flipkart said. These experience zones will soon add value added services like spot trials, reverse pick-ups, instant returns, cash on returns, and exclusive product demos. According to the company, these experience zones will be a key element of Flipkart's rural expansion strategy, enabling the firm to service Tier 4 and smaller towns from a pick-up centres.