Smartphone brands are expected to unveil a host of discounts, offers and affordability options for consumers during the festive season to make up for a slow start to the year as a result of macroeconomic headwinds hurting demand.
Retailers said they are expecting big discounts on premium smartphones and older models, while budget smartphones will see a host of bank offers.
“We had a tip-off that sales have been slow for smartphone brands, and to make up for it, they are gearing up to offer big discounts on online platforms during the festive season,” said Arvinder Khuranna, president, All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA<\/a>).
“We are meeting the leadership teams of smartphone brands to lobby for parity in discount schemes as well as prices for both online and offline segments, and to ensure adequate stocks for retailers.”
The association has met the leadership at top brands Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo<\/a>, and will be meeting Realme<\/a> in the coming days to lobby for equal treatment.
“In our meetings, we have made it clear that retailers will not be burning capital on their own to match the lower online prices this time. Instead, they will sell phones at the online prices, and bill the distributor for the difference in amount,” said Khurana.
The brands, on their part, have given a positive response and assured retailers of adequate stocks and discounts, he said.
Meanwhile, AIMRA has called for a boycott of Realme, in a letter to the company dated September 6, on grounds including not maintaining ample stocks in mainline retail and making models available exclusively to online channels. ET has seen a copy of the letter.
The association will be meeting Realme executives on September 10.
Realme, on its part, has announced it will be offering discounts worth Rs 700 crore during its upcoming festive sale, redeemable through Amazon<\/a>, Flipkart<\/a> and mainline stores. Discounts include up to Rs 10,000 off on smartphones and up to Rs 12,000 off on AIoT products during the sale starting Thursday.
Retailers are also demanding an end to online exclusivity of smartphone models, asking brands to provide stocks of all models that are in demand.
Smartphone shipments in India declined further by 5% in the April-June quarter, according to market watchers, with inventory cycles increasing across brands and channels.
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