Flipkart starts one-week pilot of its metaverse shopping experience

Ecommerce major, Flipkart has started one week pilot of its metaverse shopping experience called Flipverse, where users can create their own avatar and move around in a 3D space to shop products.

Launched in partnership with eDAO, Flipverse will be available under the FireDrops category on Flipkart’s app. In this pilot, 15 brands ranging from sports apparel, wearable electronics, and fashion to home appliances and cosmetics will be participating. These include Puma, Noise, Nivea, Lavie, Tokyo Talkies, Campus, VIP, Ajmal Perfumes, Himalaya, Butterfly India etc.

Phase one of Flipverse is an Android-only experience and will be live for a week. “Flipverse will enable a multiverse of brands to create unique product launches, discovery, and inspiring experiences to attract and engage users. At the same time, it will give brands the ability to generate and create their metaverse-ready digital twin in the virtual world. The digital twin (customer’s avatar) can then experience brands’ products, win offers, and claim digital collectibles that unlock unique experiences and offers,” the company said in a statement.

Screenshot of Flipverse

Naren Ravula, VP and Head, Product Strategy and Deployment, Flipkart Labs, said, “The launch of Flipverse will continue to have an impact on innovative industries like e-commerce and enhance the customer experience while delivering a gamified and immersive shopping experience, especially in light of the adoption of the metaverse and web3 platforms by multiple brands in India. By providing customers with access to their preferred brands, offers, SuperCoins, and digital collectibles, we are aiming to improve their shopping experiences in a virtual and immersive setting.”

Conversion rates improve

Speaking to BusinessLine about the impact of 3D and AR on platform’s conversion rates and user stickiness, Ajay PV, Head of Flipkart Labs said, users expose to 3D and variety are able to convert more, this varies between different categories but for example in mobile phone category easily 2X-3X people are able to convert through 3D feature. Overall, Further, 40-45 per cent of people who visited Firedrops have come back to the platform.

About FlipKart Metaverse

The company has recorded close to over 700 million visits for 3D and AR features on the app so far and 50 million of them came just in BBD (Big Billion Days).

Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon, said, “While we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible in the metaverse, we see e-commerce as one of the killer use cases. Combining top brands with Flipkart‘s e-commerce expertise in a virtual environment stands to revolutionize online retail as we know it. Flipverse will be a vibrant, visible expression of the metaverse, and I’m proud that this activation is taking place on Polygon.”  

Into the FlipKart Metaverse

Anand Venkateswaran, CEO of eDAO, said, “A metaverse must enable a tangible connection for consumers with brands and creators. It must function as a portal to new experiences and engagement loops. With partners like GuardianLink and Surreal Events, Flipverse does all this in just its first iteration. Flipverse can unlock much value over time, but for Diwali, we simply optimized for delight. Bringing creative and technical heft to Flipkart’s vision is a privilege for eDAO.”

Flipkart and eDAO recently partnered to create a digital treasure hunt during the Big Billion Days event by Flipkart. At the end of the 10-day celebration, shoppers got access to ‘The Strand’ digital collectible, eDAO’s all-access passport to a global pop culture ecosystem, spanning art, sport, gaming, entertainment, and more. Incubated by Polygon, eDAO builds immersive infrastructure for Web3 commerce with global brands and creators, as well as art, media and entertainment IPs.