Mobile cashback, EMI schemes new manoeuvres to woo Indian customers?
Cashbacks and EMI options are helping the mammoth Indian middle class own high-end smartphones.
Even as the Indian mobile phone market continues to grow, the manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned in tapping all possible customers segment. However, India has remained a price sensitive market, compelling manufacturers to come up with new ideas such as EMIs with low/zero interest rates to push sales of their high-end devices, which are generally priced above Rs. 20,000-25,000.
For Apple, the EMI scheme has proved to be quite fruitful. According to a report published in February earlier this year, sales of Apple products had gone up by as much as 400 percent in the last three months. Another report said Apple held 15.6% of the total revenue generated from smartphone sales in India, only behind Samsung’s 38.8%. Read iPhone sales propel Apple to second place in India
And now, Samsung is trying to outdo its rivals by introducing cashback offers for its flagship Galaxy range of phones. The Korean giant is offering a 15 percent cashback with Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank.
“The strong success that we are garnering with zero per cent finance-based offers encouraged us to offer the 15 per cent cash back offer with Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank,” Samsung Vice President (Mobile) Asim Warsi is quoted as saying.
Samsung’s offer is applicable on the following devices: Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Grand, Galaxy Tab2 as well as Galaxy Camera.
The move is certainly going to help Samsung increase sales in the country. Moreover, it is going to further intensify the competition in the market. We’ve already seen Sony and BlackBerry offering EMI schemes for their flagship smartphones/devices.
As far as customers’ interests goes, the growing competition is only going to be beneficial for them, as they are served with attractive offers and schemes all round the year.
What do you think of manufacturers’ cashback and EMI offers? Are they good for customers? Let us know your views in the comments section below:
Source: The Indian Express