App-only eCommerce: A bad idea

Flipkart has gone ahead and officially stated, that over the year, it will shut down its desktop and (surely) mobile website and move to an app-only store. They seem to be following the sister concern Myntra's move to go app-only from May 1st, a week from now. If you ask me, they could not have got it more wrong.

Recent data might suggest (I don't have this data, but somebody must have used more than their gut feeling to announce such a move, right?) that there is a tremendous growth for acquisition and conversion on Apps; especially a huge potential in 'Tier II and beyond' bases in India. So true of a country where most people get their first taste of internet freedom via a mobile data plan. But, that is just a part of the picture.

Then, there is the theory that suggests internet will go the 'Push way' and 'supply' information you need like a 'utility' such as water and electricity. OK. Enough said. Then there is the other theory that uses the evolving platform/notification features of recent and upcoming Android and iO/S versions with streaming notifications to weakly support that App is the only way to go.

After its Billion Dollar Sale blunder, Flipkart is likely readying itself for another blunder with its app-only move. Agreed, that are many reasons to have an app for an e-commerce set-up and they are great for several good reasons. But does that mean you do not have a mobile website or desktop website altogether? That's preposterous.

I buy a lot, much to my wife's chagrin (generally, about spending), a lot... online. For many reasons, the purchases are split, chiefly, between Flipkart and Amazon, and to a smaller extent, Snapdeal, eBay, category stores and the likes. Then there are the specialized sites in international locations catering to a national population. I go there too. There is no count of how many times I have used and will use the apps of local cab companies to call a ride across town, Airline tickets, hotel bookings, restaurant reviews, product reviews, movie tickets and a few other things I am forgetting, all have been bought online. But, with the exception of Taxis, that too only in the last few months, I have not used apps exclusively for any type of purchase. For all but Taxis, apps is just the last step for me. I would be a typical if not a champion profile of the current generation of digital consumers. So, may be they should be reading this article and considering my perspective. Here it is:

• I like to research the products that I buy. Mobile App, how much ever passionately you built it, sucks for this purpose. Don't take it personally. It's the same for everyone. I don't even want to talk about how difficult it is to filter and sort products (why restrict the filter and sort options on Apps?). Worse, if I am simply 'exploring' a category for what's new out there. 
• I like the big feel of the pictures. No, pinch zoom is a compromise for me; for those times that I am in a queue at a checkout line or killing time at the airport.
• I go to apps, sure, for making that final step of buying and taking that app-only discount or another incentive you have put out there for me.
• I sign out of apps, after I do the purchase. Sometime, I uninstall a shopping app altogether, just to avoid your excitement of 'offers I should not miss'.
• Push is NOT they way for me. Of the several mailboxes I maintain, my work mailbox is the only one that's on Push or Sync mode. I like to pull down the screen to refresh my mailboxes. That's the way it should be. I choose when I want to see the email. If I expect something critical, I will go there more often. But that true for email and it's true for everything else.
• If you figure out my buying journey and 'attribution' entirely and accurately, you'll see that I will come to your desktop site as many times as I need to know more about the product, the comparisons, the reviews (until more reviews get posted) and shipping policies, wishlist, reading book excerpts etc. I do all this on the Desktop site. I grew up reading newspapers and still read a lot of books (checkout my order history, if you can). But, I don't do all the product related reading in a small screen, simply because I have better choice- the widescreen of the laptop (I am not forgetting that App on a Tab also provides a midway solution).

If you read between the lines, you will see themes of usability, user interface, user experience and traditional convenience of a large screen. Mobile apps might be hep and the key thing for your VC/PE pitches, but for me, all's good as long as you keep your desktop sites live and running. Shut down your desktop site and I will leave in a hurry, because you ignored one segment, the likes of me.


Flipkart, India's homegrown eCommerce bell weather might just go down in the history for the biggest blunder yet (even if they later recover from their big bet), should they decide to shutdown their desktop site. Don't do it.

A Lazy Dad's guide to teaching your child to ride a bicycle

or "How I taught my son to gain balance, on his own"

The earliest memories I have of riding a bicycle are of the 'Paramount' 16 inch bicycle with a long saddle and steel back support. I remember my dad running behind me teaching me to gain balance. Thanks to him, I learned about the confidence, mobility and independence that came with riding a bicycle, early in life. I would like to pass on the same to my son, I thought.

My son was five years old when we got him his first bicycle, a Maxit 14 inch. Little did I realize I had, in part, put a mental handicap of sorts on him by putting training wheels on the bike. A month passed, then two. He would never bring himself to take the weight off either the left or the right side training wheel. Wheels kept getting worn or broken.

A few days later, at Decathlon sports store, I saw,the "run and ride" or "push and balance" bicycles. These bicycles do not have a drive train on them. Built for 2-4 year olds, these are normal looking bikes without chain, sprockets and pedals. (What's a Balance Bicycle?) Children push the bicycle ahead by pushing back the ground with their feet, one foot a time alternately. Doing so teaches them to learn balance. It made sense. Without a parent or elder running behind them shouting instructions, the child will be free to pull up his instincts and likely learn balance faster. Unfortunately, I had already bought a bicycle and buying just for balance was impractical.

That evening, at home I read up about tricks to teach a child to gain riding balance. I couldn't find anything I was not already doing. Add to it, my work schedule made it tough to commit time everyday to the effort. For some very good reasons, my wife was not up to the task, even though she is a rider. I did not want to lose any more time either. That's when the 'lazy dad' in me kicked in to make everyone happy with a workable solution. It was time to get hands dirty, literally.

I removed the drive system completely. The bottom bracket, pedals, chain ring/sprocket and chain, the chain protector (it should be really called 'ankle joint protector'). I cleaned the bottom bracket of any residues and reset the wheel. Obviously, no training wheels either. My son did not like it one bit. He wanted all of those things right back on the bicycle. To him, it did not look like a bicycle. I spent the next evening teaching my son to get used to a bicycle without pedals. I needed to be around, I think, more because he now had a 'weird bicycle'. He needed to get used to lugging it around, first with me around him. After that I just let him be.

A week later, my son started demanding pedals back on his bicycle. He kept insisting it's time the pedals got back on. I was a little surprised. I knew this would teach him to balance, but a week (he probably used the bike only three or four times since) was too soon. That day again I went down to play with him and watch progress. I was pleasantly shocked to see my son had learnt to balance the bicycle. He had done it by himself and how quickly. The experiment, if you may, had worked!

Now, my son and I ride bicycles together.

PS: Pedals on not, please insist on always using a helmet while riding a bicycle. Theories and opinions aside, it's safe for children and adults alike.