Flipkart will sell refurbished smartphones at discounted prices by Diwali
According to reports, home-grown e-commerce platform Flipkart will now follow the footsteps of its biggest rival Amazon and will start selling refurbished smartphones by Diwali. Amazon India had been selling refurbished handsets for some time now and Flipkart has decided to follow suit, owing to the high rate of handset returns and the lack of pricing advantage post-GST. Here's more about it.
Why was it needed?
Reportedly, the Indian e-commerce site is currently sitting on a huge inventory of returned handsets. A majority of them are brand new and have little to no wear and tear. Flipkart is now going to get them checked professionally and sell them under the separate category of Flipkart-certified refurbished handsets. These handsets, then, will be sold at 60-75% of their original prices.
Things to be kept in mind
It is to be noted that these handsets will have a much-limited warranty, compared to what is given for a brand-new handset. Refurbished models will be made available on its online platform as well as at the offline brick and mortar stores. Flipkart has opened a dialogue with distributors for the latter and the delivery will be handled by its logistics arm Ekart.
What's up for sale?
Although Flipkart didn't comment, ET's source said, the online giant will be offering three categories of smartphones under this initiative. Refurbished market in India is unorganized at the moment and Flipkart plans on consolidating it. Lenovo, Motorola, Samsung's 'On Series,' Panasonic, Micromax and Sony Xperia are some of the brands that the firm is, reportedly, planning to sell under this category.
Offline is the new revenue garner
India e-commerce platforms are exploring new avenues of revenue as online expenditure gets stagnant. They are pushing for offline sales and negotiating with physical establishments to sell affordable refurbished handsets. The goal is to tap into the consumers in tier-2 and-3 cities, who don't come online for their shopping needs. If everything falls into place, this can be a major revenue earner.
