Jay Mart to beat slump in phones with new channels

The online channels and upgraded shops are Jay Mart’s next steps following smartphone market saturation.

Dusit Sukumvitaya, the Jay Mart Mobile co-chief executive, said the online channel will enable the company to expand its product portfolio, from smartphone and cameras to electronic gadgets, drones and wearables.

The online channel offers access to customers who cannot reach physical retail shops.

The company invested 5 million baht in its online store, jaymartstore.com, which is scheduled to launch next month.

To provide a new customer experience, Jay Mart Mobile plans to build Thailand’s first digital retail concept store in Siam Paragon, this year.

“Customers can experience a virtual large flagship smartphone displayed by hologram,” Mr Dusit said.

Jay Mart wants to make payment more convenient for customers by cooperating with JFin, a subsidiary of Jay Mart, to pay via JFin Coin instead of through electronic data capture machines.

He said the concept store will have a robot greeting customers that can perceive visitors’ preferences.

Mr Dusit said the company will continue expand its 235 branches to 300 countrywide.

To differentiate Jay Mart from rivals, he said the company offers a lifetime warranty and trade-in programme.

Pairoj Thavornsapanant, assistant managing director of TG Fone, said that by the second half of the year his company will revamp its mobile app TeeGee to better engage with customers.

The app is designed to manage customer relations and make it easier for buyers to learn about products and promotions from shops to ensure repeat customers.

“Mid to high-end smartphones require customers to test and touch, for which physical locations are needed, and we will continue to increase shops by this year,” Mr Pairoj said.

Sura Khanittaweekul, chief executive of Com7 Public, said the company will focus on franchising bananastore.com to access more customers and embrace technology for sales support.

The company expects to earn some 800 million baht in online revenue.

IDC Thailand market analyst Nutchanon Boonsorn said in 2018 the feature phone market will drop, while smartphone growth will be flat.

The mobile phone market will contract for the first time in Thailand. At worst, the contraction may be 2-3% in terms of unit sales, and at best there will be flat growth.

However, in terms of value, there will be growth in smartphone value of up to 4%, thanks to the shift to purchases of more expensive models.

“We expect the average selling price of smartphone will be higher at 8,100 baht, compared with 7,900 baht last year,” Mr Nutchanon said. “The growing segments are phones priced from 10,000 to 17,000 baht, and those above 21,000 baht.”