Pre-registrations,
exclusive launches and deep discounts at online marketplaces have cut
deep into the business of mobile store retailers and large-format
chains. For K Rajesh, proprietor of N4U Mobiles in Hyderabad for 12
years now, take-home profit has shrunk to 2% over the past few years.
"Our chief business is now sale of software and after-sales service and
repairs. Even mobile accessories command greater buyer base online due
to the range available," said Rajesh.
Helping these stores take on the threat, price comparison and affiliate sites are coming up with solutions to list prices of offline businesses that promise delivery within four hours and other incentives. MySmartPrice and Zopper have tied up with large-format retailer The Mobile Store as well as corner stores to generate leads for the brick-and-mortar businesses.
"We are looking at deep integration with The Mobile Store wherein the stocks available across stores is updated in real time. This might not be possible for mom-and-pop stores as most do not have an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system.However, they can drive value by bundling mobile accessories and software downloads along with the sale," said Sulakshan Kumar, co-founder and director at MySmartPrice.
In its partnership with The Mobile Store, the site guarantees four-hour delivery and has generated close to 1 lakh leads per month in the pilot stage. The price comparison site has rolled out the collaboration with 100 corner stores in Hyderabad, yielding 10 to 15 leads per day.
"Currently we have not monetized the model for the corner stores though later we might look at driving commissions on sales generated" said Kumar.
The Mobile Store has also tied up with Zopper.com, which pivoted its model to hyper-local price comparison after raising $5 million in Series B funding from Tiger Global Management in October 2014. Buying from neighbourhood stores is driven by the promise of minimized risk for a credit purchase, return problems and warranty issues for users, said Neeraj Jain, co-founder and CEO of Zopper, which has a presence in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Helping these stores take on the threat, price comparison and affiliate sites are coming up with solutions to list prices of offline businesses that promise delivery within four hours and other incentives. MySmartPrice and Zopper have tied up with large-format retailer The Mobile Store as well as corner stores to generate leads for the brick-and-mortar businesses.
"We are looking at deep integration with The Mobile Store wherein the stocks available across stores is updated in real time. This might not be possible for mom-and-pop stores as most do not have an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system.However, they can drive value by bundling mobile accessories and software downloads along with the sale," said Sulakshan Kumar, co-founder and director at MySmartPrice.
In its partnership with The Mobile Store, the site guarantees four-hour delivery and has generated close to 1 lakh leads per month in the pilot stage. The price comparison site has rolled out the collaboration with 100 corner stores in Hyderabad, yielding 10 to 15 leads per day.
"Currently we have not monetized the model for the corner stores though later we might look at driving commissions on sales generated" said Kumar.
The Mobile Store has also tied up with Zopper.com, which pivoted its model to hyper-local price comparison after raising $5 million in Series B funding from Tiger Global Management in October 2014. Buying from neighbourhood stores is driven by the promise of minimized risk for a credit purchase, return problems and warranty issues for users, said Neeraj Jain, co-founder and CEO of Zopper, which has a presence in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
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