Flipkart ventures into NFTs with Nothing’s airdrop

E-commerce giant Flipkart said that it will allow buyers of Nothing Phone 1 in India to acquire Nothing’s limited edition non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from its mobile shopping app on Android and iOS. 

Nothing is a UK- based consumer electronics brand which launched its first smartphone Nothing Phone 1 this week. To create hype around the launch the company has released a NFT collection called Nothing Community Dots and is using the Polygon blockchain to host it. The NFTs will provide buyers early access to new products, events, and specific gifts by the company. 

Flipkart said that customers who have pre-booked and subsequently purchased the new smartphone can redeem the NFTs via the Firedrops feature in the Flipkart mobile app. 

Firedrops by Flipkart marks the e-commerce company’s foray into Web3 and NFT ecosystem. It will be available on the Flipkart app from July 22. 

“We are delighted to join hands with Nothing to bring our customers into the Web3 playground with the very first NFT drop at Flipkart FireDrops, hosted on Polygon’s blockchain,” noted Jeyandran Venugopal, chief product and technology officer at Flipkart. 

Arjun Kalsy, vice president of growth at Polygon believes, NFTs can completely revamp the e-commerce experience by, “unlocking verifiable digital ownership” and driving “greater community engagement.”

Nothing’s NFTs is also the first NFT drop by any smartphone brand. However, Indian electronics brand Intex’s director Keshav Bansal told Mint in June about his plans to open a Metaverse store. Intex is also planning to use blockchain in supply chain management. 

Flipkart’s parent company Walmart is also planning to venture into NFTs and cryptos. According to a CNBC report, Walmart filed several trademark applications with the USPTO last December to sell virtual goods, NFTs and digital currencies. 

Most single retail brands such as Nike, Adidas have already made millions selling virtual products and NFTs. Meta too is planning to open a virtual store where brands can sell clothes for digital avatars. 

To be sure, NFT collections of three brands Adidas, Nike, and Gucci generated $137.5 million in sales in just three months, DappRadar reported in March.