Quick adoption of digital payments by retailers bring smartphone sales back on track: Report

If you thought that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move would discourage smartphone buyers in the past couple of months, it did, but it was retailer’s quick adoption of digital payment that helped them sail smoothly through rough weather. According to a report by The Economic Times, smartphones sales did see a slump by the end of last year. But these have now climbed back to normalcy thanks to quick strategy changes by retailers and marketers, said Manu Sharma, VP (mobile business) at Samsung India. The quick move to switch to digital payment options and easy finance options was the saving grace for both smartphone manufacturers and retailers. According to Sharma, it was the entry-level feature phones segment that was badly hit by demonetisation. This is because feature phone buyers normally pay by cash. However, Samsung met its October-December quarter sales target even with demonetisation and a missing flagship (the Galaxy Note 7 ) this year. A report by The Financial Express quotes Manu Sharma stating that the people’s shift to mobile wallets has increased, “Thanks to the government’s cashless push, people have developed a habit of making payments using various e-wallet services. People are finding them more convenient than cash payments. Due to demonetisation, digital mode of payments have increased.”