Flipkart is launching its very own servicing subscription programme along with the sale launch of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, which went on sale at noon on Thursday and was sold out within minutes. The servicing subscription programme is currently available for the Asus smartphone currently but the leading e-commerce platform intends expand this service to all smartphones it sells on its platform in the next three months.
Despite growing reports of Walmart set to acquire the Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart, the company is not letting the deal blind it from its other priorities. Especially since the company’s big sale season, beginning with the Big Billion Day Sale, starting 1 October is only five months away and preparations seem to have already begun with what Flipkart is calling a ‘Complete Mobile Protection’.
The service will be introduced at an annual price of Rs 49 and will cover all service requirements of smartphone brands bought on Flipkart. This service is separate from the warranty that will be provided by the brands.
“For smartphone customers, we will become the single-point of contact for all service-related issues. The customer will have to just call Flipkart. We will send someone to your doorstep, pick up the phone, fix it and return it to your doorstep. The longest time taken will be 10 days for the remote locations that we cover. In metros, we will be able to do this in under three days,”
said Ayyappan R, Senior Director (Head of Mobiles) at Flipkart.
The mobile phone market is one of the highest-earning categories for the Bengaluru firm although executives declined to reveal the exact share the mobile category brings into the company. However, the company did concede that one in four smartphones bought in India, both online or offline is present on Flipkart, therefore meaning that the company owns 25% of the mobile market share sold in both categories. However, the e-commerce giant is aiming to possess 40% of the market share in 2020. As for online retail, Flipkart claims over 75% market share.
Earlier, Ajay Yaday, Flipkart’s VP, speaking at the announcement of the Flipkart-Asus partnership stated that the firm witnessed a 60% growth in the mobile category while the overall industry grew at 14%. The Bengaluru company is really positioning itself to have monopoly of this market segment, adjusting marketing strategy by focusing on price and exclusive brand retail, as well as providing tempting deals such as no-cost EMI, phone exchange and guaranteed buyback to woo customers on its platform. A strategy that seemingly paid off.