Flipkart, Amazon set to lose big chunk of business as mobile brands push offline sales

E-commerce platforms Flipkart and Amazon may soon lose their stranglehold on smartphone brands OnePlus, Xiaomi and Realme, among others, that are sold exclusively on their marketplace as these brands strengthen their offline push by forging partnerships with retailers such as Reliance Digital, Croma and Sangeetha Mobiles.

Currently, mobile phones account for half of the gross merchandise volume (GMV) of e-tailers, with RedSeer Consulting pegging it at 50 per cent in 2018. Considering that Flipkart and Amazon dominate the e-tailing market with over 70 per cent market share, they will be the hit hardest by offline expansion of these brands.

Bengaluru-based Sangeetha Mobiles, which has 600 mobile phone stores across south India and clocked a turnover of ₹1,700 crore in fiscal ended March 2019, has forged exclusive offline partnerships with OnePlus and Realme.