Retailers draw up big plans to win back mobile phone buyers this festive season
To win back customers from e-commerce platforms, offline retailers are offering gift vouchers, gym memberships, free cosmetic laser treatments, etc.
Mobile phone buyers never had it so good. Hefty discounts are on offer if you buy from an online platform this festive season. If you prefer an offline purchase, you could even win a 1BHK flat or a car. Desperate to win back customers from e-commerce platforms, offline retailers are offering gift vouchers, gym memberships, free cosmetic laser treatments free car service, etc.
“If a customer comes in, he gets an envelope with 8-10 vouchers and they could be something like a car wash service, laser removal in a parlour or one-month gym membership free,” a report in The Economic Times quoted Nikunj P Patel, president for All India Mobile Retailers Association Gujarat.
Prospective customers, who wanted to purchase online, have started visiting offline stores after the offers were announced, Patel who owns 45 Fonebook stores, said.
Offline retailers in Ahmedabad have come together and tied up with salons, gyms and have a lucky draw prize worth Rs 25 lakh, the report said.
Replicating the business models of big e-tailers such as Flipkart, some retailers are coming up with home delivery within a few hours this festive season.
The lockdown and other Covid-19 restrictions have hit offline retailers hard, with customers increasingly moving to e-commerce platforms. The revival of handset sales during April-June period was mainly driven by online retailers, IDC had noted in a recent report.
Sales during the festive season account for nearly one-third of annual sales and therefore retailers leave no stone unturned to boost sales during this period of the year. This year, however, they are far more aggressive.
The news report quoting Ajit Jagtap, president of AIMRA Maharashtra, said plans are being drawn in Mumbai and a lucky draw winner may well get a 1bhk flat or a car.
Even as online and offline retailers are pulling up their socks to cash in on the festival demand, smartphone brands could in fact see a 5-15% shortfall in shipments due to chip shortage.