Myntra recently shut down its mobile website forcing users to download the app if they wanted to use Myntra on their phones. Even though their desktop site is still live, there is word that that may be shut down as well making it accessible on app only.

There is immense competition in the ecommerce space and as valuations creep higher and higher, investors are looking to shift their focus to becoming profitable before a potential exit. The competition is so high because majority of the population still makes purchase decisions based on price. If you can sell it cheap, you can sell more.

This isn't very good for the ecommerce companies that are looking to instill a sense of loyalty in their customers. They understand that they cannot instill loyalty by trying to out-price the competition and even if they do manage it this way, it is no easy road to becoming profitable.

They've taken two key approaches to address this. One, introduce their own custom labels. While this is an approach in positive brand building, going app only is the other approach that helps.

It is very easy for a user on the web to compare prices across sites before making a purchase decision. Whereas, it is a lot harder to do it on an app. By going app only, ecommerce companies have a lot to gain as they then no longer compete only on price. It is indeed a smart move to go app only until price comparison technologies catch up.

But is app only the way to go for those not in ecommerce? Perhaps not.