Festive season: Consumer electronics, phone companies giving retailers record margins to boost sales

KOLKATA: Consumer electronics and smartphone makers are giving retailers record margins during the festive season as they seek to ensure a boost in sales, said people with knowledge of the matter. Leading retail chains said this will be passed on as a discount in order to persuade consumers who are holding off from making purchase decisions on account of the gloomy economic climate.

Brands usually pass on 2-3 percentage points of extra margin in the period between Navratri and Diwali. This year it’s been raised to 4-6 percentage points from Ganesh Chaturthi onwards in the west and this will be rolled out across the country, said the chief of one of India’s four large retail chains. This will lead to a price drop of 4-6% during the festive season, while some of the amount will also be used for marketing.