Amazon India has announced the dates for its Prime Day 2024 and the e-commerce major is making sure that there is a new smartphone launch in every price segment - ranging from less than 10K to greater than 100K. Talking about it, Ranjit Babu - Director, Wireless and Home Entertainment, Amazon India - said that they are adding the 20-30k price segment as well this time. He also said that customers are showing interest in AI-enabled smartphones.  

Here are the edited excerpts from the interview:

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Que: As the Prime Day dates are already out! Please share what all consumers can expect from this year’s Prime Day and how Amazon India plans to make it better than the previous year’s Prime Day sales.

Ranjit Babu: There are two things. You remember last year we launched one phone every day for a week and we had a big lineup of products. Throughout the year those products were our bestsellers. This year we're making it larger. This is the biggest new launch lineup that we have had to date. So, to give you a flavour, we will have three products in the 10 to 15k segments, all 5G phones at the lowest 5G prices that have been there so far. From Redmi which is the Redmi 13 5G, iQOO Z9 Lite which is iQOO by Vivo’s cheapest 5G to date and we also have Lava Blaze X. All three, if you look at the predecessors, were really successful.  

In the mid-range, we are launching the Samsung Galaxy M35 5G and OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite 5G in a new colour variant, both of their predecessors which we launched for Prime Day last year, were the best sellers. In the top end, we have a new variant of OnePlus 12R and an upgrade of Moto Razor, which is the Moto Razor 50 Ultra. Recently, we have also launched Realme GT 6Twhich is a bestseller on Amazon. Now we are bringing its new color variant during Prime Day. We are also introducing Honor’s 200 Series for the customers.

For the first time, we are bringing the 20 to 30K price range as well. So, if you look at the lineup, we have a new launch from every price segment and major brands ranging from less than 10K to greater than 100K.  If I talk about the TV category, you know that the current trend is of large screens. We are launchingSony Bravia’s3series which has an excellent range of products. In the large screen size segment, we are launching VU MasterpieceGloQLED along with Samsung's Crystal Vivid Pro series. So, if we look at the TV space also, we have some extremely exciting new launches coming up for Prime customers on Prime Day. Talking about the overall portfolio, this year we have the best lineup ever of new launches. The second point is that every year, Prime customers expect the best deals of the year on Prime Day. This year as well we aim to deliver exciting deals and offers for our valuable customers. For example, the iPhone, OnePlus’s flagship devices, and Samsung's flagship devices will have the lowest price of the year this Prime Day. And that's just a few examples, but across the board, customers can expect the best deals of the year during Prime Day. 

Que: How has the customer buying behaviour been this year so far both while purchasing a smartphone and television? 

Ranjit Babu: The latest trend that we have witnessed in the TV category is that customers are increasingly opting for larger screens and better display technology as they want a theatre-like experience sitting at home. As a result, two-thirds of our sales come from 4K TVs and our fastest growing segments on Amazon are 55 inches+ TVs.We are also able to sell OLED and QLED TVs which were significantly expensive in the past but now customers can afford them with the help of affordability options available on Amazon which led to more than doubled YoY sales. 

The two major factors that are influencing customers going for upgrades are- theatre-like experience and a lot of customers are now willing to have more than one TV at home could be one in the living room and the other one in their bedroom or other rooms that they may have. So that trend is picking up in India, which you have seen abroad and that is one of the big trends for us in the TV category. 

Talking about the smartphone category, last year 5G was the biggest driver for upgrades amongst the customers. This year, the price point of 5G phones is coming down. You will see that a lot of phones are now available in the Rs 10,000 to 15,000 price range and customers are now buying 5G phones as the price has come down. Subsequently, more than 80% of smartphones sold on Amazon this year are 5G and last year this number was in the range of 60 per cent to 62 per cent. That number has gone to 80 per cent + and it is across price segments. The key driver for this growth is the fact that 5G smartphone prices are now lower. Last year, it was in the 15 to 20K price range predominantly. This year, we are seeing most products are available in the 10 to 15k price range and it is driving a lot of interest among customers. 

Another significant trend is customers are choosing smartphones above the 30k segment and in that price segment more than 45 per cent of our sales are coming from the no-cost EMI scheme indicating customers are opting for the no-cost EMI option and upgrading to a better experience. So, multiple factors are driving customers to upgrade such as better devices, larger screens, better batteries and artificial intelligence. To some extent, a lot of customers are seeing these trends and purchasing premium products from Amazon.

Que: Do you really think AI features are in demand when it comes to smartphones? What are your views on the new smartphones that are being launched with AI features?

Ranjit Babu: We are seeing a lot of interest in Samsung's AI range, which they have announced and there is a lot of excitement amongst customers to purchase these products. This could be one reason; we are also seeing interest among brands and they are very excited about it. The Moto Razr 50 Ultra that we are bringing has Moto AI, and Motorola is talking about how that will simplify the lives of customers. The Honor 200 series that we are launching during the Prime Day Sale will also have artificial intelligence. So, a lot of brands are now coming up with innovative ways to integrate AI into their phones. The premium segment will go further as more customers adopt premium smartphones and we believe AI could be one of the drivers for that kind of growth.

Que: Do you think the focus of consumers has now shifted to AI-featured smartphones rather than camera-centric smartphones?

Ranjit Babu: I believe that for the premium segment, it may hold true a little bit more than the mid and lower-end segment because not many brands have brought AI down to those price points compared to 5G. Yes, there is interest in AI-enabled smartphones among customers. In the coming years, more brands will bring innovative products, different applications will come into play and AI will become more ubiquitous across price bands but right now the interest per our understanding is more towards the premium space.

Que: When we talk about tier 2 and 3 markets, what kind of strategy Amazon has built to deepen its reach in these markets?

Ranjit Babu: Our key focus is that we want to make our widest selection available to all our customers from any part of the country because in tier 2 and beyond markets, it may be difficult for customers to get access to all the selections that are carried through offline stores. So, Amazon makes that possible for its customers. One of my favourite examples is TVs, in smaller towns, one store will be selling a few TVs along with large and small appliances, so you can physically only hold a few televisions. That doesn't mean a tier 2 or 3 customer does not aspire to have a large-screen QLED TV at home. Amazon solves that problem and provides a full selection to our customers across the country in any city. So, selection is the primary strategy followed by our ability to offer the best value to customers. Not only do we provide offers, but we also offer affordability options such as exchange offers and no-cost EMI across banks, including AmazonPay Later, and Bajaj Finance Limited, so we offer many more options to a customer in tier 2 and 3 markets. The third is we have reliable and speedy delivery. These things matter to customers in these small towns, because there is an element of trust. Talking about the recent Counterpoint research report, that has been quoted, Amazon is India's most trusted destination for buying smartphones. So, I think a combination of the widest selection, trust and our ability to deliver safely& quickly, intensifies that Amazon offers the best value. Getting these basics right has been our focus. This year, over 70% of both TVs and smartphones that we have sold are in tier 2 and 3 markets. When we spoke last year, that number was much smaller. 70% is where it stands today.

Que: How has Amazon’s performance been in Q1 and how Prime Day is going to boost this performance?

Ranjit Babu: During Prime Day we see a large customer demand search and it sets the stage for a big Diwali (Amazon Great Indian Festival) and a good second half of the year. We believe this year’s Prime Day will be the biggest ever because we have a long lineup of launches, the premiumisation trend, and the deals that we offer to our customers. That will set us up for a great second half and a significantly better Diwali than we have seen previously.