Smartphone Makers Might Offer Discount On Inventory: Report

If you are planning to buy new smartphones, then there is some good news for you, as all leading handset makers are likely to offer huge discounts on their inventory. The smartphone makers like Xiaomi, Samsung, and Realme are reportedly planning to offer discounts and schemes on both offline and online platforms.

However, both leading Xiaomi and Realme have denied the reports and said that there is no inventory left. While Samsung and Oppo haven't responded yet, reports Economic Times. "There have been inventory levels throughout the past few quarters across channels and brands. This inventory is expected to continue to the last quarter," Upasana Joshi, associate research manager, Client Devices, IDC, told the newspaper.

Joshi also believes that the inventory is a very big issue for all handset makers and there are chances that they will soon drop the prices of the smartphones, once they will launch new handsets. She said, "Offline sales will remain muted owing to heavy aggression by online platforms in terms of deep discounting, offers and cashback." Similarly, Tarun Pathak Counterpoint Research's associate director believes that the inventory issue exists but the current situation is not that bad it was in 2018.

"Most of the top five brands were cautious about their sell-in this year and were watching the situation closely. If there are older models that didn't sell well, then they undergo price cuts to get rid of their inventory. The price cut procedure is easier for online brands like Xiaomi and Realme to take and to get rid of the inventory as compared to the ones in offline," Pathak replied to the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Amazon has announced offers on the Redmi Note 8 Pro, OnePlus 7T, Samsung Galaxy M30, Vivo U20, and the iPhone XR. The e-commerce portal is holding its Great Indian Sale for 2020 from January 18 till January 22. Amazon has also announced its partnership with SBI bank to offer 10 percent on Smartphones.