Smartphone retailers struggling to make their presence felt amid coronavirus crisis
Rajeev, a resident of Delhi, went into panic mode when her daughter Smriti living in Ahmedabad went into silent mode for a long time. Smriti who works with a real estate services company in Ahmedabad, couldn’t reach his father because her charging port had stopped working and she was unable to charge her phone. She finally did contact her father hours later using her laptop.
A nationwide lockdown that started on March 23 has led people to work from home. Mobile phones and laptops have become not only the means to stay connected and doing work, but it also has become a major source of entertainment for us.
But what do you do when your mobile phone or laptop, or god forbid, both malfunction during a lockdown?
As the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic has entered its fourth phase, smartphone retailers are finding difficulty in providing smartphones to the users. The sale of smartphones has resumed in some parts of India as the government has decided to ease some of the norms it has imposed earlier on businesses. Despite the relief, not all shops are open yet.
To resume operations, retailers have to get permission from local authorities and also make sure they follow sanitisation guidelines laid down by the government.
While exploring Orange Zones and Red Zones, we noticed that most of the shops were shut. However, some shops have opened in Green Zones across the country.
A Vijay Sales’ outlet in West Delhi is currently open and is selling the existing stock. However, they are unsure about receiving more stocks.
When we asked about their expectations on smartphone sales, the outlet declined to speak.
We also found a few local mobile shops open and were selling their products secretly. They too denied commenting.
The area around Azadpur Sabzi Mandi is no different. We explored the markets adjacent to Adarsh nagar and Panchwati but none of the mobile shops was open.
“It is hard to buy even a new SIM card. Most of the mobile sellers, retailers, authorised shops and partnered stores are shut. People feel susceptible to move out and buying a phone is not a priority at the moment for them,” a nearby local said.
Same goes for the mobile repairing shops. They are also nowhere to be seen. The adjacent areas of Azadpur Mandi house a huge chunk of migrant labourers and because of the 55 days of continuous lockdown they have either moved to their native places or do not have cash in hand to buy a new phone or go for repair.
The SMS delivery option is not their cup of tea as being offered by a few mobile manufacturers.
While speaking to a consumer, in need of a new smartphone, expressed
his displeasure on non-availability of smartphones but he also said that watching the current scenario, he would prefer online over offline.
However, the few smartphones brands are changing their pattern in providing retail options. Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo and Oppo recently came up with their new online to offline (O2O) initiatives in the country.
Recently, Vivo has launched its ‘Vivo Smart Retail’ (VSR) model. Through this solution, Vivo will be addressing the demand for smartphones across the country by leveraging its vast retail network.
“In a first of its kind click to mortar model, the company has built this program with the support of over 20,000 retailers and 30,000 VBAS. Vivo has adopted this new model to enable business continuity for its pan India retail network that will help consumers connect with retailers from the comfort of their homes,” the company said.
The Government of India has lifted the ban on smartphone sales via e-commerce platforms, though buying a new smartphone via brick and mortar stores is still a challenge in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
According to a media report, smartphone makers’ latest move to adopt online to offline (O2O) strategy will not just help their retail partners regain lost business and address pent-up consumer demand but will also allow brands to acquire a better sense of retail partner capabilities.
Analysts believe that these initiatives will further evolve and will lead to convergence of various channels in the country, besides offering new opportunities to retailers to diversify and better compete with ecommerce players.
“The hyperlocal strategy is here to stay as it gives a much-needed opportunity to retailers to diversify as they are competing with online stores. The delivery mechanism/mode of payments will change and the hyperlocal model fits in perfectly between pure offline and pure online model,”
Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research said.
India’s leading handset brand, Xiaomi, launched its online to the offline solution – “Mi Commerce” for its users to help them browse and buy Xiaomi products from their nearest offline retail store while staying at home. It said that the move is the first step towards a longer-term Omnichannel strategy.
As per IDC, Xiaomi led the smartphone market in the januarymarch quarter with a 31.2 per cent market share, followed by Vivo and Samsung with 21 per cent and 15.6 per cent shares, respectively. Realme and Oppo stood at fourth and fifth spots.
India’s smartphone industry is the second-largest in the world, however, it could be headed to a supply-chain disruption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Smartphone makers could be severely impacted if the situation triggered by the spread of COVID-19 does not improve.
Chinese handset maker Oppo said it has suspended its manufacturing at the Greater noida plant and is awaiting test results of all 3000 employees. earlier today, six Oppo factory employees were reportedly found COVID-19 positive.
India has recorded the biggest singleday spike of 5,611 Covid-19 cases on May 20, with the total infections reaching 1,06,750, including 3,303 deaths (as of May 20). ■
team@mymobile.co.in