Hyperlocal deliveries requires accuracy and efficiency. Flipkart’s product team recognized that while its existing customer address data was sufficient for standard deliveries, hyperlocal orders required more precise information. This led to the development of an address validation system that improve delivery success rates while maintaining a seamless customer experience.
The product manager and the team are featured as one of Upraised's top 50 Game Changers in 2024.
The Problem: Address Accuracy for Hyperlocal Deliveries
With the launch of Flipkart Minutes on the app, they started facing a new challenge—ensuring delivery accuracy within tight timeframes.
The key issues were:
- Higher Accuracy Standards: Hyperlocal deliveries required precise address data due to limited delivery radii and faster timelines.
- Low Confidence in Saved Addresses: Some customer addresses lacked the granularity required for hyperlocal use cases, leading to delivery failures and cancellations.
- Customer Experience Trade-Off: Frequent address verifications could disrupt the shopping journey, increasing friction for users.
Flipkart needed a solution that balanced these challenges by improving address accuracy without negatively impacting user experience.
The Solution: Smart Address Validation with a Blended Flow
To overcome the issue, Flipkart introduced a blended address validation system. This innovative feature leveraged the platform’s extensive customer data to selectively prompt users for address confirmation when the system detected lower confidence in the stored data.
Key Features of the Address Validation System
Confidence-Based Triggers
- The system evaluated address confidence levels for each order.
- Only addresses with low confidence triggered a validation prompt for minimal disruptions for users with verified data.
Multi-Layered Validation Checks
- The validation process included checks for missing details (e.g., landmarks, building numbers) and inconsistencies, ensuring higher address quality.
Seamless User Experience
- The feature was designed to be minimally intrusive, blending smoothly into the shopping flow without adding unnecessary steps for users with accurate addresses.
Impact: Improved Delivery Success and Reduced Cancellations
The implementation of the address validation feature delivered significant improvements across critical metrics:
- Reduced Cancellations: Hyperlocal order cancellations caused by inaccurate address information saw a notable decline, enhancing delivery success rates.
- Enhanced Customer Trust: By proactively addressing potential delivery issues, Flipkart increased trust and reliability among its hyperlocal customers.
- Improved Operational Efficiency: With fewer delivery failures, the operational efficiency of Flipkart’s hyperlocal services improved, optimizing resource utilization.
The Team Behind the Innovation
Akash Agrawal: Ex-Product Manager ll, Flipkart
Akash noticed with the launch of Minutes on the Flipkart app that the accuracy of addresses of current users had gaps. Last-mile logistics make or break UX for quick commerce given the promise of convenience & time.
He thus introduced a feature allowing selected users to share their exact Google Maps location, removing unnecessary friction from the delivery process.
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