Vivo waives some dealer fees to aid offline retailers

New Delhi: Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is selling smartphones in the offline channel at zero dealer financing charges in a bid to support ailing offline partners.

DBD (dealer buy down) is a fee paid by a merchant to banks and non-bank companies for providing zero-interest EMI payments facility. Retailers pay DBD charges close to 1.5 percent to NBFCs on financing mobiles.

Dealers of Vivo, an offline-focussed brand, have waived off DBD fee to aid mom-and-pop store owners burdened by dwindling sales in the offline channel and mounting losses.

As per latest data by research firm IDC India, the share of offline sales in the June ended quarter declined 56.8% on an annual basis, while decline in online sales was lesser at 39.9%.