Sandeep Karwa on how Flipkart IRIS is revolutionizing brand intelligence for D2C brands

India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, Flipkart, last month launched its insights platform, Flipkart IRIS – Insights and Research Intelligence System. The platform denotes a considerable advancement in offering comprehensive intelligence about customer behaviour to brands. Flipkart IRIS is designed for empowering brands with actionable insights tailored to their performance on the platform, fostering growth and further driving informed decision-making.

Sandeep Karwa, Vice President, Flipkart Ads, is the newly appointed leader for Flipkart Ads. Over the past 12 years at Flipkart, he has been instrumental in shaping and scaling various business categories at Flipkart.

In conversation with Adgully, Sandeep Karwa, Vice President, Flipkart Ads, sheds light on Flipkart IRIS, an innovative intelligence platform aimed at transforming how brands engage with the e-commerce landscape, how Flipkart IRIS empowers brands with actionable insights across the entire customer journey, from awareness to purchase, enabling them to identify growth opportunities, understand competitor performance, refine marketing strategies, and enhance brand health. He also elaborates on the platform’s revolutionary approach to brand intelligence, particularly for Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands, and details how it equips brands with personalized metrics and in-depth analysis of customer journeys to make more informed decisions.

Could you provide us with an overview of Flipkart IRIS and elaborate on its significance in empowering brands within the e-commerce landscape?

Taking a significant step towards a data-driven approach, Flipkart launched Flipkart IRIS, a comprehensive intelligence platform designed to empower brands and sellers. It goes beyond just data by providing actionable insights across the entire customer journey, from awareness to purchase. This allows brands to identify growth opportunities, understand competitor performance, refine marketing strategies, and improve brand health.

How does Flipkart IRIS revolutionize brand intelligence on e-commerce platforms compared to traditional methods, and what unique advantages does it offer to brands, particularly D2C brands?

Flipkart IRIS is revolutionizing brand intelligence for D2C brands on our platform. Unlike traditional methods with limited data, Flipkart IRIS offers a ‘magic mirror’ view. D2C brands are digital natives who understand the power of e-commerce marketing and invest heavily in these channels. They crave data and are quick to experiment. Flipkart IRIS empowers brands with business intelligence (BI) to benchmark their performance against competitors and category leaders. Through the ‘Download Center’ in Flipkart IRIS they can download reports in a self-serve manner to run custom analytics. This deep dive allows them to optimize their strategies for long-term success on Flipkart.

Could you explain how Flipkart IRIS equips brands with personalized metrics and offers in-depth analysis of customer journeys, enabling them to make more informed decisions and optimize their strategies?

Flipkart aims to aid brands with strategic decision-making and facilitate their growth on the platform. In line with the vision, Flipkart IRIS empowers brands with unmatched personalization and customer journey insights. They can track key metrics that matter most to them, such as impressions, clicks, product views, and units sold. 

The platform also offers insightful benchmarking against competitors, giving brands a clear view of the competitive landscape. For example, one of the key reports which Flipkart IRIS provides is the Alternate Purchase report. Using this report, brands can find out which products they are losing share to. Another important report would be the Search Term Report. Using these reports, brands can find out which are the most searched keywords and how are they performing on them. The insights platform also provides breakdowns of organic and advertising efforts. This allows brands to optimize their budget allocation and maximize campaign effectiveness.

Could you share insights into how brands can effectively leverage the data provided by Flipkart IRIS across different stages of the customer funnel, from awareness to consideration and purchase, to drive strategic growth?

With Flipkart IRIS brands can leverage data to drive strategic growth across the entire customer journey. We generate a massive amount of data offering a rich treasure trove of insights into brand positioning, sales conversion, and operational efficiency.

For instance, during the awareness stage, IRIS can reveal how they have fared on gaining share of voice in their category and what is their brand recall. This allows brands to refine their targeting strategies and tailor their messaging to resonate with specific customer segments. As customers move into the consideration phase, Flipkart IRIS can provide insights into product page views, engaged product page views and alternate purchase reports. By analyzing this data, brands can identify potential friction points and optimize the customer journey for smoother conversions. Finally, within the purchase stage, the insights platform can offer valuable information on sales, add-to-cart rates, and abandoned carts. Brands can draw comparisons with their peers and take immediate action to improve their sales.

In what ways does Flipkart IRIS reflect broader trends in the AdTech industry, especially concerning data analytics, personalization, and the evolving dynamics of e-commerce? How does it align with the changing needs and expectations of brands in the digital space?

Flipkart IRIS embodies several key trends shaping the AdTech industry. Firstly, it reflects the growing importance of data analytics. By providing granular customer journey insights and performance metrics, IRIS empowers brands to make data-driven decisions and optimize their strategies across all stages of the e-commerce funnel. This aligns perfectly with the industry's shift towards data-centric marketing approaches. 

Secondly, Flipkart IRIS emphasizes personalization. Unlike traditional methods, Flipkart IRIS allows brands to tailor the platform to their distinct business goals and track metrics that matter most to them. This aligns with the increasing focus on AdTech solutions that cater to individual brand needs and enable personalized customer experiences.

Finally, the insights platform reflects the evolving dynamics of e-commerce. Flipkart IRIS equips brands with the tools to understand their audience better, anticipate their needs, and deliver targeted messaging throughout the customer journey. This comprehensive approach caters to the changing needs and expectations of brands in the digital space, allowing them to thrive in the competitive e-commerce landscape.