Flipkart Introduces Saathi to Mimic Salesperson Assistance

Walmart's Indian e-retailer arm Flipkart on Wednesday introduced a smart assistive interface feature called "Saathi" which aims at mimicking the typical real-life shopping experience for consumers who are comfortable being assisted by a salesperson. It uses a combination of text and audio-based instructions to guide new users in their e-commerce journey.

This includes a list of key actions in the form of pop-up texts followed by audio for a better understanding.

"Flipkart Saathi" will help first-time e-commerce users on the platform enhance their overall shopping experience, the company said.

Flipkart said the feature aims to empower consumers across tier-2, tier-3 cities and beyond in rural India, as it seeks to bring the next 200 million consumers online.

"Flipkart is committed to bringing the next 200 million consumers online and solving for that in every possible manner," Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Group Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart, said in a statement.

This first-of-a-kind feature from Flipkart is available in Hindi and English to start with.

"This personalisation of technology is a key element of our vision for Bharat and all our innovations are centred around this," Krishnamurthy said.

"Through the combination of cutting-edge tech with our robust understanding of the diverse consumer base in India, the Flipkart team has created an offering to simplify e-commerce," added Jeyandran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Flipkart.