Samsung has been trying to find the right balance between online and offline sales of its devices in India. The company recently started localising e-commerce order delivery, installation, and collection of payment for cash-on-delivery orders through authorized distributors. Now, the company has tied up with Indian e-commerce marketplace Paytm to open its online brand store in the country.
After working with major online marketplaces Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal, Samsung has now tied up with Paytm according to a report from The Economic Times. Samsung can now open an independent online brand store on Paytm where it can control the sellers, inventory, pricing, and promotions of its products. The South Korean electronics giant can also run promotional campaigns and tag its brick-and-mortar stores, which would enable the company in generating enough sales for their offline channel through this online store.
Wazir Advisors' founder and managing director Harminder Sahni said: “Marketplaces are like stores. Brands are realising there is no reason to have another retailer in between for their online presence. The real benefit is when there is no one in between. Even from the regulatory point of view, with marketplaces not allowed to control prices, this move falls in line.” Going hyperlocal would give Samsung greater control over online sales of its products and a chance to maintain a good relationship with conventional distributors, dealers, and store owners while having a good online presence at the same time.
