Bharti Airtel is currently working on a strategy wherein they are planning to offer entry-level smartphones bundled with affordable EMI options, and data and voice plans, to its prepaid users. Currently, the telco offers this facility to their postpaid subscribers through loans in partnership with Federal Bank, HDFC, Seynse Technologies, and Clix Capital.
The New Strategy for Prepaid Customers
Airtel is planning to offer entry-level handsets to its prepaid customers on affordable EMIs bundled with attractive voice and data plans, in a bid to counter its flagging revenues. India’s second-largest telecommunication operator has been deeply impacted by price wars incited by Reliance Jio’s entry and consecutive strategies. That is why now Airtel is trying to encourage a feature phone user to go for an upgraded smartphone.
Airtel’s Efforts
According to inside sources, for the strategy to take effect, Airtel is working with smartphone manufacturers, content providers, and financial institutions to offer smartphones in the range of Rs.4,000 to Rs.10,000 and to expand the store. This expansion of the store will reach over 326 million prepaid subscribers of the company.
Smartphone makers, who have captured almost 78 percent of the country’s market, have been approached by Airtel for creating entry-level phones that can be offered to Airtel prepaid subscribers for a reasonable EMI. As of now no concrete decision has been taken on the same and will be done so only after comprehensive discussions among the partners.
Airtel is in talks with several lenders to offer credit to people without credit rating through loans from banks, disclosed a senior official from a leading lender. Most of the prepaid customers are voice users carrying a feature phone, making almost all the smartphones available in the online store, too expensive for their pockets. The affordability issue is what Airtel wants to solve by employing digital lending methodologies.
Airtel Online Store
Airtel Online Store was conceptualised during the 2017 Mobile World Congress. The objective of opening this venture was to build a platform for the device side offering handsets, tariff plans (mobility solutions), and finance. As per Vani Venkatesh, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel, the online store was launched in October 2017 as an integrated platform that makes upgrading to smartphones of choice easier by removing the constraints of higher down payments and inconvenient payment schemes.
According to the insider sources, the Airtel Online Store has till now catered solely to the postpaid customers. But with the new strategy, the prepaid customers will have access to it pretty soon. Recently smartphones like Nokia 6.1, Nokia 7 Plus, and Oppo F9 Pro, have all been offered to the prepaid customers at the online store.
Nokia 6.1 priced at Rs.17,499 in India is the least expensive in the category. The handset can be purchased with a down payment of Rs.4,599 and availing the 12 month EMI option of Rs.1,275 a month. Bundled along are a recharge plan that offers 1.4GB of 4G data daily, 100 SMS per day, and free calls.
Venkatesh did not comment on the store expansion, only reiterated that the store has been a learning curve for the company. According to her through the online store, the company has been able to allow users to upgrade to devices of their choice by making the entire process simple and seamless because of digital technologies.
Advantages of such Offers
Bundled plans coupled with affordable EMIs garner customer stickiness. It also allows the subscriber to upgrade to a new device of their choice besides which they can enjoy a large amount of data at high-speed, unlimited calling, free content subscription, roaming, and much more.
Bharti Airtel Tops in Total Subscribers, Jio Adds 13 Times More Users Than Vodafone, Idea in July
According to a leading telco’s top executive, with prepaid customers moving to voice and data plans from simple voice packs, they are the next big revenue generators, and companies like Airtel and Reliance Jio are already devising strategies to mine that segment.
The post Airtel to Soon Offer Budget Smartphones With EMI Option Bundled with Voice, Data to Its Prepaid Users appeared first on MySmartPrice.
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