PhonePe Launches Indus App Store, Set to Rival Google Play Store with Made in India App Store
PhonePe has introduced the Indus App Store in India, offering users a completely indigenous app store experience. Through this platform, users can download apps directly to their Android phones.
Indus App Store:
Owned by Walmart-owned company PhonePe, the Indus App Store was launched today, February 21st. This app store, which has been making headlines for the past few months, is an Android app store made in India that could potentially compete with Google Play Store.
Will Google Play Store Get a Break? It’s worth noting that last September, the company invited businesses to publish their apps on its platform. While most Indian Android users rely on Google Play Store to download any app, now they will have an additional option. People can now download Android apps through the Indus App Store.
The launch of the Indus App Store marks a significant move in the Indian app market, as per data from intelligence firm data.ai. Indian smartphone users spent 1.19 trillion hours on mobile apps in 2023, compared to 954 billion hours in 2021. This indicates a substantial increase in the amount of time Indian smartphone users spend on apps and the rapid growth in this metric. In this scenario, launching this app store by Walmart could prove to be a lucrative business move for them.
Special Features of Indus App Store At the time of its launch, the company claimed that it has added close to 2 lakh mobile apps and games across 45 different categories to this app. Users will get support for 12 languages, including Hindi and English, in this app, which also includes several regional languages of India.
Providing information about the Indus App Store for the first time in September, the company said that it will be completely free for any developer to register their app for the first year. PhonePe co-founder Sameer Nigam had said at the time that developers can use any payment gateway on their platform. The company claims that 24*7 customer care support will be available through email and chatbots on the Indus App Store.