Is going app-only a smart move by e-tailers? Find out

When Myntra decided to go app-only, it was definitely a well-though move and now several hyper-local startups are also planning to follow suit.

The transition from website to a mobilephone may seem difficult but it could also help e-tailers in reaping benefits.

But ignore the website totally? The answer apparently lies in cookie-those byte-sized pieces of information that help construct an identikit of visitors to websites. Economic Times reported that a cookie is there for everyone to take a bite from, and online retailers are naturally not eager to share this snack with competitors. There is no such problem with an app.

"The web is an open architecture. There are a wide variety of sensors detecting what you do, and that information is easily available. In an app, you isolate your behaviour," angel investor AjeKhurana, who writes on crossborder and global ecommerce for technology firm Pitney Bowes told the financial daily.

E-commerce websites bank on online marketers and ad exchanges to drive users to websites, which turn segment users into groups and target ads by considering websites and products that people have previously visited or viewed.

However, cookies can act like a double-edged sword as they can steer a customer towards a web site but have also the capability of powering ads from other companies on the browser through intermediaries.

"With these third-party cookies, you win as well as you lose. But the bigger guy has more to lose," Khurana told ET.

Meanwhile, if someone wants to buy a product using an app, only the app becomes privy to the needs of its users and can hope to sell more to them over time.

Shamik Sharma, the chief product and technology officer of Myntra, told ET that the motive of his company was to exploit the advantages of being on a mobile app. "It is not an explicit attempt to stop them from searching on Google. Myntra is not so big that people will stop using Google search anyway," he said.

Also, several e-Commerce companies have seen rapid growth in transactions using mobilephones. Take the example of Snapdeal that witnessed mobile transactions climb from 30% in 2013 to 50% in 2014.

Now it is aiming at a 75% transaction rate from mobile. Flipkart, said 70-75% of its total traffic is already coming from its mobile app, compared with 6% last year.

On the contrary, Ranjit Nair, CEO of social media analytics firm Germin8, believe that closing down websites will work to the detriment of e-tailers.

"Frankly, as a customer, I will be annoyed if I have to download an app to shop," he told ET.

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