Higher Publishing Standards / Reader Features
I know everyone wants to feel published and the goal here is to let the reader choose, but the standards are so low that even the "published" work is fraught with grammatical errors. As a reader, it's really off-putting.
I think the solution here is to help readers understand what they could be voting for (based on real criteria rather than mere preference). There should be a lot more features engaging readers anyway, but a few early ones could be encouraging readers to challenge themselves with a new genre, offering tokens for free copies of published work for good (highly rated) critiquing, and maybe even the ability to review / comment / critique anonymously.
Reading comprehension is definitely a skill, so more articles on the art of reading I think may help Inkitt feel less writer-exclusive. It's just not efficient to "bring readers and writers together" then focus on the writing side of things. Not only does this result in a giant author's hub where no one is actually helped and thereby never really improve, but readers are immediately drowned in amateur work, warding them away.
Editing is also a skill, and in some people a passion, so adding more features / articles about the process of editing and the criteria to look for would really round this place out. Not to mention the option for a more thorough review process.
What we need is a symbiotic relationship between writer and reader, with both refining the standards of the other. Not only would this enrich a reader's engagement with material they like, but it would help new writers succeed in receiving actual quality reviews. The keener the reader, the better the critique, the better the writer becomes, resulting in higher quality material for your Published library, culminating in higher sales. Everyone wins.
These are things that would really help Inkitt stand apart from the crowd.