Flipkart apologises for its Women’s Day gaffe, says it ‘messed up’

Twitter users were quick to call out Flipkart's Women's Day campaign.

New Delhi: Brands never miss a single opportunity when it comes to cashing in on special events. Big discounts, attractive schemes, and running offers; brands aim to grow their sales exponentially on such days. In one such instance, e-commerce major Flipkart, too, tried to promote International Women’s Day with special offers. But failed in its attempt. The company has now apologised on social media for its marketing campaign gone wrong. 

For the unversed, Flipkart was running a marketing campaign offering kitchen appliances at discount on International Women's Day. The promotional messages were up on social media, with many criticising the Walmart-owned e-commerce company for promoting negative stereotypes about women. 

"Dear Customer, This Women's Day, let's celebrate You. Get Kitchen Appliances from ₹299," a promotional message allegedly sent by Flipkart to its customers read. The message reinforced negative stereotypes. 

Can you spot the problem here? pic.twitter.com/MVWA8so9p7 — Raj S || রাজ শেখর (@DiscourseDancer) March 8, 2022

Social media users were quick to call out Flipkart and its promotional campaign. The campaign was criticised heavily on social media. Several users found the promotional campaign offensive. 

“Celebrating women's day by assuming women are made for kitchen only ! patriarchy is so internalised,” a Twitter user said. 

“The person here obviously doesn't understand technology, and how these recommendations work. There are algorithms that run, which recommend you items based on your search and browse history,” another Twitter user pointed out how the technology works. Also Read: PNB account holders can get benefit of Rs 20 lakh for free, know what you need to do

Responding to the criticism, Flipkart apologised and said, “We messed up and we are sorry ." The e-commerce added, "We did not intend to hurt anyone's sentiments and apologise for the Women's Day message shared earlier." Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro series with 67W fast charging launched in India: Price, specs

We messed up and we are sorry.
We did not intend to hurt anyone's sentiments and apologise for the Women's Day message shared earlier. pic.twitter.com/Gji4WAumQG — Flipkart (@Flipkart) March 8, 2022