Flipkart introduces ‘Back to College’ program to

 Flipkart introduces ‘Back to College’ program to offer
an enhanced  learning experience to students

Students can now get learning modules from leading edtech companies along with their purchase of laptops and tablets during the 3-month long campaign

Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, has introduced a Back to College program to facilitate the educational needs of millions of students as they begin their classes virtually this year. Under the program construct, Flipkart is making available a wide selection of computing devices and bundled education content through tie-ups with leading edtech players including Edukemy and Simplilearn. As part of the initiative, over 400 courses across coding, AI and competitive entrance examinations will be available to students among a plethora of learning choices. This initiative aims at enhancing the learning potential of students as digital learning takes precedence.

As students prepare to move into a new academic year, the “online learning” scenario, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, continues to lead them to upgrade their education essentials with the best computing devices to make their learning process more intuitive and impactful. As part of the nearly 3-month initiative which started in June, Flipkart has curated a special page on the platform to help students select the right computing and electronic items such as laptops, tablets, printers, audio devices and IT peripherals along with online learning materials depending on one’s primary use case. As part of the campaign, students looking for laptops and tablets will receive options post purchase to pick relevant courses from the edtech partners in an affordable manner.

Rakesh Krishnan, Senior Director, Electronics at Flipkart, said, “As students get ready for the new academic year and are now better acquainted with virtual learning, we are closely working with our brand partners to bring the best-in-class computing products, combined with courses and content to enhance their learning experience. With nearly 40-45% of the demand for electronics coming from the student community and the significant rise in the adoption of online learning since last year, the industry is now shaping its offerings to cater to this fast-growing customer segment and bring various interventions. Through our “Back to College” program, students will benefit from the wide variety of courses offered by partners along with a large selection of computing devices available on Flipkart that will cater to their diverse needs and support them in choosing the best learning materials available.”

In the past year, the demand for computing devices including laptops and tablets has grown multifold, as students switched to learning from home on the back of the pandemic. Interestingly, while school students prefer to purchase budget laptops, college students are looking for premium options to undertake complex tasks which require high processing power.

At the same time, online education offerings for classes 1 to 12 are projected to increase 6.3X by 2022 from the base of 2019," according to an industry report*. It added that the post K-12 market is expected to grow 3.7X to touch $1.8 billion.

Flipkart’s customer insights also corroborated a growing demand for online learning materials among the customers of computing devices. Earlier in April, Flipkart partnered with Codingal, Avishkaar, Prograd and Vendantu to offer online courses for school students and witnessed good traction among customers. 

To better cater to the students’ needs, Flipkart also introduced its Student Loyalty Program with wide-ranging benefits. Students will have to sign up on the electronics page on the Flipkart app using their student identification card and after verification, they will be eligible for 3 months of Flipkart Plus membership along with a host of other benefits on the purchase of electronics, gadgets and backpacks.

Demand for wider screen laptops and tablets grow with

Demand for wider screen laptops and tablets grow with online learning taking precedence: Flipkart Insights

 

With schools taking education online and the growing opportunities for e-learning, students are also upgrading their education essentials to make the learning process more intuitive and impactful. This has led to a rise in the demand for wider screen laptops and tablets along with other electronic devices.

 

According to search insights by India’s homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart, there has been a significant increase in the demand for laptops and tablets in the past one year with a jump of 200% and 90% respectively on a pre and post lockdown basis. Additionally, the demand for wider screen tablets has increased with the share of 10 inches tablets growing to almost 11% from 2% in December 2020 alone. While customers, particularly students, earlier preferred 8 inches tablets, they are now seeking larger sized screens that are visually appealing and offer a better experience as they spend more time in front of their screens. Furthermore, a review analysis done by Flipkart revealed that an increasing number of customers preferred laptops with larger screens for a better experience.

 

To improve customer experience, Flipkart has created a curated set of offerings across laptops, tablets and IT peripherals on its platform on the occasion of World Education Day which falls on January 25th and has launched initiatives such as the Student Club Program to make it easier for them to access their learning material in an affordable manner.

 

Commenting on this trend, Rakesh Krishnan, Senior Director, Electronics, Flipkart said, “As a homegrown e-commerce marketplace, Flipkart has a nuanced understanding of customers and is always looking for ways to fulfill their evolving needs. We have worked on a curated set of selection along with our brand partners to bring the best products for the customers work and learning activities. While the demand for learning essentials such as laptops, tablets, routers have been growing significantly over the past one year, customers are preferring to purchase wider screen computing products to complement their learning experience. This is also a testament to the evolution of the computing products market where experience is gaining equal prominence as of performance.”