Flipkart shuts down Ping and Image Search app feature, 1300 sellers list products as ‘Out of Stock’
The Indian e-commerce giant, Flipkart has announced that it will shut down its ‘Image Search’ and ‘Ping’ built-in app features from June 25th. The company has decided to replace the ‘Ping’ feature with its new ‘user to seller’ chat.
Flipkart launched the ‘Image Search’ feature in July last year that will look for products posted by users with similar color, pattern, and style. A month later, the company introduced the ‘Ping‘ feature which allows you to share product images and chat while shopping. Unfortunately, it seems like both these feature didn’t work out for the company resulting in the termination of these features.
“After 25th June, 2016 users will not be able to chat with their friends or family on Ping but will be able to browse through their existing chats on the app. Customers will continue to be able to share any messages or products through any social media platform of their choice.”
– Flipkart.
Recently, Flipkart also revised its return policy, which made its 1300 sellers unhappy and led them to first ever online dharna, by listing their products ‘out-of-stock’ for a day. The company is already under huge pressure as its arch-rival Amazon has announced that it will invest over $3 billion (approx. Rs. 20,300 crores) in India.
