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Sales of Smartphones, laptops and tablets surge in the first phase of Unlock


Sales of Smartphones, laptops and tablets surge in the first phase of Unlock
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In a bid to control the spread of the virus, India much like other countries had imposed a nationwide lockdown. We are currently in the Unlock 1.0 in which things are slowly crawling back to normal. Due to the lockdown that lasted for almost two months, coupled with people still working from home and the advent of online classes, has pushed the sales for smartphones, tablets and even laptops.

A Flipkart spokesperson in conversation with Mumbai Live shared, “While Mobiles have remained the most searched item, searches for the mid-premium segment witnessed the biggest surge within the category, which consists of a wide product offering.” 

Not just this the sale for laptops has more than doubled on the platform and there is also a steady demand for second-hand laptops.

 “As a result of the extended work from home scenario, we're witnessing a 2.3x increase in overall laptop searches and good demand for refurbished laptops on 2GuD as well. Work oriented laptops equipped with graphic cards for the coders, designers and high performance laptops with good processing power have been one of the top choices for consumers. Interestingly, demand for gaming laptops and core i3 laptops has witnessed a significant increase in states such as Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka, solving for their entertainment and everyday use purposes,” added the Flipkart spokesperson.

Even Acer India echoed the same sentiment. Talking to Mumbai Live, Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO and Consumer Business Head, Acer India said, “As the ripple effects of COVID-19 has generated a new directive to work from home, learn from home and game from home, we at Acer have seen a surge in demand for PCs across the spectrum both from the consumer and commercial side”. He even explained how there is only so much that one can do with their smartphones and PCs have become the most important tool for staying productive, connected, and is also paramount for e-learning. Acer has in this unlock phase even launched their range of Mini Affordable PCs and even maintained that with the remote working culture likely to become mainstream, penetration of devices in each household is predicted to go up.

Sanjay Dholakia who has a mobile shop in Mulund said that consumers are still apprehensive to visit the shop and most of them call before dropping in. “The footfalls are not as much as we had witnessed before the lockdown”. However, he too maintained that with the advent of e-learning the demand for tablets is up by almost 30 per cent. “We earlier did not have stock for a tablet but now we are keeping them”.

While a couple of mobile shop owners that we spoke to in Mumbai maintained that the sales for a smartphone has not really picked up and the most sold phones remain the ones in the Rs 10,000 to 15,000 range but the ones in the hinterlands of Maharashtra share a different story. One of the shopkeepers in the area told us, “In the last two weeks, I have sold smartphones that have been lying in the inventory for the last six months. People don’t really look for the brand, they want an internet-enabled phone that has a good battery”.

Not only the sales of the devices have gone up and there is an increased demand for repurposed devices but even their rentals have increased. Talking about the same, Faisal Kawoosa, Co-founder of TechARC said, “The dependence on digital platforms has increased and this has triggered the demand for gadgets for people to connect. After lockdown, people are looking for these gadgets to help their children study. Not only this even the rentals have gone up for laptops, etc, where many offices are procuring for the short term on rentals”.

It is now to be seen whether the spike in the sales continue in the coming months or will we hit a plateau and see another surge during the festive season?

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