Indian smartphone brands like Poco and iQOO are sub-brands of Xiaomi and Vivo, respectively. Both of these brands currently offer affordable smartphones with competitive specifications. These brands focus primarily on the online market in India, which helps them keep their prices low by reducing distribution costs. However, their prices might increase if they expand to the offline market. Let me explain how this shift to offline sales could lead to higher prices.
Poco and iQOO May Face Price Increases
Both companies currently focus on the online market only, which helps them reduce costs by avoiding expenses like distribution costs, in-store marketing costs, retail margins, and increased overheads—expenses typically incurred in the offline market. In the online market, companies mainly pay platforms like Amazon or Flipkart for listing their products.
However, both brands have now started expanding offline in some regions to reach a wider audience where online sales are lower. Considering the higher expenses associated with offline sales—such as distribution costs for delivering products to offline retailers, in-store marketing costs to promote products, retailer margins, and commissions—the smartphone prices in the offline market may be higher than the lower prices currently offered online.
We’ve observed that when brands like Redmi (a Xiaomi sub-brand) and Realme expand their sales to offline markets, their product prices often increase. Considering this trend, it’s likely that Poco and IQOO might also face similar price hikes as they expand their offline presence.
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Conclusion
Poco and iQOO are among the top smartphone brands in India that are focusing on the online market. Based on past experiences with other smartphone brands, their prices might increase if they expand to offline sales in India.