Demonetization Deflated The Mobile Retail

The Mobile sales across the country was severely impacted during the demonetization phase with retail in tier 3 and tier 4 towns getting specially hit but retailers and the industry have taken it in their stride and look forward to brighter days!

- Haider Ali Khan

The Demonetization had hit almost every business and mobile retail was no exception. Mobile retail business, like any other businesses in India, has been largely dependent on cash especially in smaller towns and cities and due to cash crunch in the hands of potential customers during Demonetization, it led to a huge fall in the overall sales of the mobile handset across the country. Mobile retailers experienced marginal or no sale period and hence it was natural that the situation would have backward impact on handset makers leading to huge pile up in the inventories.

Markets

Retailers across Delhi-NCR and interiors of the country have seen a slump in sales during November and December last year but they are upbeat about the situation will normalize once people will start getting enough cash in their hands.

One such mobile retailer Goldy Singh of Goldy Communication in North Delhi says, “This has been a very disappointing period for us, being the festival time (Nov-Dec) we were being unable to sell a single handset per day.” He also said that generally people Used to buy or upgrade their mobile phones but it did not happen this time due to cash crunch.

The mobile retail body, all India Mobile retail association (ALMRA), quotes that the first one week was badly affected but later it has come to normal with support from NBFC schemes. “Feature phone business was badly affected in b, C and D towns,” says ALMRA. “The mobile retail business was down to 30 per cent in cities and 50 per cent in rural areas,” ALMRA said.