The
battleground for Apple and Samsung is now e-commerce website Amazon
India. Both companies are striving to sell their smartphones at a
discounted price exclusively on the online portal after scrapping them
off from offline stores.
A
report by Times of India says that Apple has slashed prices for the
iPhone 5C by 30 percent. The 5C is Apple’s slowest selling devices and
will now be sold exclusively on Amazon. On the other hand, Korean brand
Samsung offers a 23 percent discount on its yesteryear flagship device,
Galaxy S4. This device too is available exclusively on Amazon.
The
report claims that both the companies have sold almost 1 lakh units
together on Amazon. This sale could be the highest ever for these models
through one point of sale.
Tarun
Pathak, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research has said that, “It’s a
strategic move by Apple and Samsung to focus on two of the
fastest-growing smartphone segments where their presence has been
limited.” He also stated that, “These two brands have sold substantial
number of the handsets which will boost their market share too. More
such online-only deals are expected this year and we expect e-commerce
contribution to overall smartphone sales in India to touch 30 percent
this year from 15 percent in 2014.”
Initially,
Samsung did not have a appreciable presence under the 20K smartphone
segment but it strengthened its market space when the Samsung Galaxy S4
received a massive price cut and became available online for Rs 17,999
on Amazon. Apple too decided to reduce prices for the iPhone 5C to Rs
22,990 when it decided to discontinue their super-popular iPhone 4 from
the market.
An
Amazon India spokesperson confirmed to Times of India that sales for
both Apple and Samsung devices had been ‘exceptionally good’. Samsung
has chosen Amazon as its sales channel for other products as well.
Yesterday, Samsung launched the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge in India starting at
Rs 49,900.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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