Indians still want to touch and feel smartphones before buying

When it comes to buying their next smartphone, touch and feel continues to play an important role for Indian consumers. This makes offline retail an important part of their purchase journey. Thus, the success of mobile brands in a hypercompetitive mobile market is driven, amongst others, by retailer’s perception of mobile brands in offline retail markets. As per a new nationwide CMR Retailer Satisfaction Audit 2022by CyberMedia Research (CMR), conducted across Tier-I and Tier-II Indian cities, Lava continues to retain and build on its market salience in the India mobile market.

According to Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, “In the new normal, both online and offline retail continue to be equally important touchpoints for consumers. Consumers seek to research online, buy offline, or vice-versa. All said, offline will continue to be the cornerstone for mobile business in India in 2023 and beyond.”

Sell-out schemes, timely payout, and transparency in dealings are what retail partners look for in associating with a smartphone brand. Lava ranks highest in retailers’ trust in India.

“In offline retail, a smartphone brand’s success is driven by the level of its ongoing engagement and trust with its retail channel partner ecosystem. With its consistent and long-term focus on the offline retail market, Lava continues to dominate in retailer trust driven by its transparent processes, timely payout and price control,” added Satya Mohanty, Head – Industry Consulting Group, CMR.

Here are some key highlights from the survey:

• The top three drivers for satisfaction on overall sales support are satisfaction on trade / sell out schemes (25%), transparency in process (18%) and timely payout (13%).
• Lava (score 60 out of 100) features in top 3 brands of retailers’ preference, being Samsung (70), Vivo (64) and Xiaomi (60) other brands in top 3.
• While considering the perception of retailers in Tier II cities and beyond, Lava (85) and Tecno (85) score highest in trustworthiness.
• In timely payout, Xiaomi (85), Lava (84), oppo (84) and Vivo (84) score highest in terms of retailers’ satisfaction. While considering the perception of retailers in Tier II cities, Lava is the clear winner in timely payout (81).
• When it comes to transparency in process, Oppo (85), Samsung (85), Vivo (85), Xiaomi (85) and Lava (84) score highest. While considering the perception of retailers in Tier II cities, Lava is the clear winner in transparency in process (81).

CT Bureau