Retailers ask cos to cut 4G phone price
retailers have urged the top smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung to slash prices of 4G smartphones and push affordability schemes and marketing campaigns to help clear piling inventory of 4G handsets.
Demand for 5G smartphones, particularly in the sub-₹15,000 segment, is expected to surge with multiple new launches lined up in December. «The advent of 5G technology, coupled with affordable pricing and robust government initiatives, has created a palpable demand among consumers for the latest technological offerings,» the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) said, in similar but separate letters to Oppo, Vivo, Samsung, and Xiaomi.
«This transition, however, has left retailers with an inventory of 4G products that are facing challenges in the current market environment,» AIMRA said, considering the fast-paced transition to 5G technology and the resultant shift in consumer preferences.
The retailers asked the brands to take proactive measures in addressing the presence of 4G stocks in the market, through implementing permanent price drops, consumer schemes, affordability initiatives, higher margin on 4G stocks, and strategic marketing campaigns.
This, to spur some last-minute demand for 4G smartphones in a market swiftly being dominated by 5G.
