Why Flipkart's #BigBillionDays sale will be a flop like last year

Flipkart, for the last two years, has been hosting a mega online sale. It promises massive discounts, great deals and basically a bonanza to cash in on with the festive season around the corner. Last year, however, the sale was a dud and riddled with tech snags.

This year, for its #BigBillionDays sale, Flipkart has mixed things up a little. The sale this year will only be available to people who use its app and for that they have scaled its infrastructure significantly. On paper, the changes may sound reasonable, but that's not the case. 

1. It's app-only

The decision to go app-only isn't just for this sale alone, but for the entire website eventually. It has already taken its fashion portal Myntra to an app-only model. This frankly isn't great news for someone who doesn't own a smartphone. In office, I have colleagues who are tech savvy, but don't own a smartphone because they choose not to. In fact, one of my colleagues, who wants to buy a smartphone in the #BigBillionDays sale, will not be able to because he doesn't own one, and to get access to the app, you of course, need one.

2. Technical snags

Many sellers I have spoken to in the last few days say that their dashboard sends out error messages. Suffice it to say, Flipkart's infrastructure is botching things up already. May a miracle save them when the sale goes live. I am talking about failed transactions - situations where you've bought the product and the transaction has been completed only to find the product is out of stock. That is neither good for the seller, nor for Flipkart. Trolls on Twitter will have a field day.

3. Artificial price inflation

Price inflation was an issue last year. Many products that were sold at a discount had their prices inflated so that buyers would get the illusion of a massive discount. Flipkart hasn't said or tackled that issue. On the laptop you can use a Chrome extension called "BuyHatke" to figure out if you're being duped as you can track changes to the price of the product. On the app you can't. So, you may get fleeced. No big deal?

4. Network glitches

Using the app also means that you'll probably be on a mobile network. The way the network is and the way Flipkart's infrastructure has behaved in the past, they can be a perfect recipe for disaster.

5. One day, one product

As a part of this sale, all product categories will not be available every day during October 13-17. For instance, if you're looking for a phone, you can only get a great deal between the 15th and 17th. For books, it is only 17th, and for other electronics and automotive stuff, the window is between the 16th and 17th. Only the fashion category is going to offer deals through and through. Flipkart hasn't done a great job of communicating this. In fact, there will be deals for people who use particular banks and that too hasn't been communicated well. 

The big takeaway is that Flipkart's big day under the sun has huge potential to backfire because of the decisions it has taken in the run-up to the sale. That's obviously not great news as it prepares to go to war with Amazon and Snapdeal. Other than that - all is good.