The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and lockdown have affected all sectors. However, the telecom industry is the only sector that launched new packs to offer proper connectivity to its users. Besides, the need for such benefits has been increasing during the same period.
On the other hand, mobile phone retailers are suffering as they cannot operate during the lockdown, which is why they are looking for relief packages. It includes suspension on loans, insurance, and collateral-free loans.
All India Mobile Retailers' Association (AIMRA) has written a letter to Prime Minister and asked for the package. The industry body said that they are looking for loans up to Rs. 1 crore with less interest and insurance up to Rs. 50 lakhs.
"As while retail remains closed in lockdown, these e-tailers are selling and delivering non-essential products creating an opportunity to win customers, reducing retail demand forcing them to shut down which may lead to huge unemployment," said Sunil Gupta, State President, AIMRA Rajasthan.
Besides, the industry body said that it is looking for a package so that retailers can meet their expenses. Also, asked to provide vaccines to retailers soon. The firm added that they are likely to face bankruptcy due to expenses such as electricity bills, bank interest, and rentals.
Mobile Offline Retailers Expects Jobs Loss Due To COVID 19
Meanwhile, market research firm Counterpoint said that offline retailers might achieve 55 percent growth in 2021 as compared to 60 percent earlier. However, the firm added that it could be lower than estimates depending on the lockdown and the second wave of the ongoing pandemic.
"The smartphone market is to witness a degrowth in the second quarter and the brunt of it will be borne by the offline retail channel, whereas e-commerce which is ever-expanding to newer pin codes clearly has an advantage," said Rajeev Nair, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.
It is worth noting that all leading smartphone brands such as Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Realme have huge plans for setting up and expanding their offline presence. However, we expect that the lockdown and decreasing sales might force these big brands to put on hold on such plans for a while and these companies might stop spending huge amounts on marketing.