Flipkart is looking to dive deeper into its Web3 initiative FireDrops, and to do so, the ecommerce giant has partnered with the Polygon blockchain network. Using Polygon’s CDK-deployed Layer 2 chain, Flipkart plans to boost its Web3 loyalty programme. Launched earlier this year, Flipkart wishes to expand its offerings portfolio from physical items to virtual assets as well. Originally, the ecommerce platform had chosen Polygon to launch its FireDrops initiative.
With FireDrops, Flipkart is trying to give a new twist to its strategies to ramp up user engagements on its platform. Several brands selling their products on Flipkart are incentivising brand loyalty through gamification, giving their users fresher experiences of being rewarded through virtual goodies rather than physical ones.
“Flipkart is tapping Polygon CDK to build an Ethereum-based zero knowledge (ZK) Layer 2 network dedicated to the service and ensure future growth. It gives Flipkart a number of customization options, including a fine-tuned onboarding experience, dedicated blockspace and low transaction fees for its users. Future upgrades to Polygon CDK will also allow for enhanced privacy for transaction data, the ability to run the chain without a token or to use a central bank digital currency and access to liquidity in the greater Polygon and Ethereum ecosystems,” Polygon Labs wrote in an official blog post.
Arun Phillips, the Chief Marketing Officer at Polygon, announced this development during the Polygon Connect India event this week.
On the official website of FireDrops, Flipkart says that existing reward programmes feel ‘complex, boring, and broken’.
Since its launch earlier this year, FireDrops has managed to generate 3.3 million wallets holding at least one NFT that the users may have collected as part of a brand reward.
From mystery boxes and special badges to discount benefits, early accesses, and freebies – the FireDrops reward programme also lets users earn from buying and selling rewards. This is what Flipkart is marketing as ‘the future of rewards’.
Internationally, several other brands are also taking an immersive, virtual approach to give their rewards programmes a Web3 twist and usher-in a new era of customer engagement. These brands include Starbucks, Lufthansa Airlines, and apparel brand Lacoste among others.
