PhonePe Is Developing an App Store to Compete With Google Play Store in India

Google Play Store is the official app store for Android devices. It has a vast collection of apps and games and is considered the best source of getting apps for Android users. Although third-party solutions are available, a new app store is reportedly being developed by PhonePe, a digital payments and financial services company backed by Walmart.

PhonePe Is Developing a Google Play Store Alternative

According to TechCrunch, PhonePe is working on a Google Play Store alternative, with the goal of assisting developers in acquiring "high-quality" users through multilingual solutions that offer hyper-localized services based on client context.

A representative from PhonePe told TechCrunch that while Google controls 97% of the Indian app store market, the company has over 450 million registered users in the country and could create an alternative app store that is "more localized not just from a language perspective but also from a discovery and consumer interest perspective."

According to an internal business document obtained by TechCrunch, PhonePe's desire to enter this market stemmed from the company's acquisition of IndusOS, a provider of app stores that catered to customers through partnerships with smartphone manufacturers.

According to the document, the app store will provide a "premier experience for millions of users with high-quality advertisements and custom targeting," as well as support for 12 languages and 24x7 live chat.

PhonePe Wants to Deepen Relationships With Smartphone OEMs

According to the report, the fintech company intends to strengthen its relationship with smartphone manufacturers, including companies like Xiaomi.

In fact, the company is in talks with various smartphone manufacturers and claims that everyone is very open to the idea.

PhonePe stated that the timing is "favorable" for them to create an alternative app store because the Competition Commission of India recently issued an order allowing other developers to build and launch their app stores on Google Play.

Source: TechCrunch