Flipkart to roll out the 'price lock' feature ahead of the festive season

Walmart-owned e-commerce giant Flipkart plans to introduce a 'price lock' feature for festivals. This feature will allow customers to reserve products with a small deposit to lock them in at a fixed price, solving issues of quick stock-outs and price fluctuations during holiday sales.

According to a report by Money Control, Jeyandaran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO), Flipkart stated, "During festive seasons, we have received feedback that products are sold out or unavailable within minutes, and with the feature price lock, people will be able to lock in the inventory they need.

A specific launch date for the 'fixed price' service was not mentioned during Venugopal's speech at the Converge event hosted by Walmart. For those who don't know, Walmart acquired a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart in May 2018.

According to the media publication, customers must make a small deposit under this new feature to guarantee access to a specific product at a fixed price, even in the face of increased demand. This "lock" feature protects shoppers from price fluctuations and product shortages, which are common during holiday sales.

Venugopal also mentioned that Flipkart sellers increased from 1.1 million last year to 1.4 million. The Bengaluru-based company has also intensified its commitment to customer service, including features such as trial rooms and personalized beauty and personal care guidance.

Earlier this month, Flipkart also announced that it wants to create over one lakh seasonal employment opportunities across its supply chain, including fulfilment, sortation, and delivery centres.

According to the company statement, these seasonal jobs, both direct and indirect, will include those for local Kirana delivery partners and women, as reported by PTI. Furthermore, he also added that Persons with Disabilities (PWD) will be hired to create diverse talent in the supply chain.

"The Big Billion Days (TBBD) is about scale, innovating for India, and impacting the ecosystem. It allows millions of new customers to experience the goodness of e-commerce, many of them for the first time," said the senior vice president of Flipkart Group and Head of Supply Chain, Customer Experience and ReCommerce, Hemant Badri, as reported by PTI. TBBD is Flipkart's sale time, which discounts products from top brands.