Friday frenzy pits tech vs tradition. Apple's nifty hand devices overtake gold in terms of popular appeal.
As technology vied with tradition for Indian consumers’ attention and money on Friday, there were no doubts about the clear victor. All the hype surrounding ‘cheaper’ iPhones — the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c – paid off for Apple on Dhanteras, a day traditionally known for frenzied buying of gold by consumers. Only, this year, people went after the expensive top-end smartphones on the day of their launch in the country. And how!
In terms of the number of footfalls at shopping spaces on a single day, iPhones set a new record, retailers said.
Himanshu Chakravarty, CEO of The Mobile Store, said: “While we can’t disclose the actual sales numbers, we expect to sell out our entire stock of iPhone 5s and 5c within the next three days.”
On Friday, sales of both phones, he said, beat Day 1 sales of not only the last iPhone (5) launch last November, but exceeded launch-day sales of rival handset manufacturers in the similar price category in the last 5-6 months. That too by a huge margin of up to 50%.
Until Friday, the top-selling model has been the champagne-coloured iPhone 5s, a success abroad as well. “While pre-bookings started 3-4 days ago at the store, we now expect to get our fresh stock only by November 4-5,” said Chaktravarty.
The iPhone 5s and 5c, which are being bundled and sold by Airtel and Reliance Communications vary in price points: Rs41,900 and Rs53,500 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively, of the iPhone 5c; as for the iPhone 5s, handsets are priced at Rs53,000 for the 16GB model, Rs62,500 for the 32GB model and Rs71,500 for the 64GB model.
However, Airtel is offering a 50% reduction on monthly rentals that could help customers save up to Rs12,000 per year. Airtel’s plans on both iPhones start at Rs600, which includes 500 free local minutes, 300 local and national SMS, and 200 MB of 3G data, while the highest plan at Rs2,000 comes with 1,500 free local minutes, 600SMSes, and 3GB of 3G data.
An Airtel spokesperson said an arrangement with Apple to open sales one hour before rivals led to heavy footfalls since 4pm on Friday. RCom’s pre-bookings opened at midnight (Friday-Saturday), but a flood of enquiries from across the country ensued even before sales begin today.
Although RCom offers services in only 13 3G circles, its first-ever (two-year) contract-based offers for iPhones with no upfront fee, modelled on similar offers in markets like the US, led to consumer frenzy.
Gurdeep Singh, president and CEO, wireless business of RCom said: “Of our over 31 million data customers, 7.7 million use 3G. Our goal now is 40% share of the incremental smartphone market in our 13 3G circles.”
The iPhone 5s and 5c will not be sold at retail stores due to limited stocks and high prices.
Instead, they will be sold only at The Mobile Store outlets, Apple stores and exclusive retail stores of telecom players offering iPhone bundling. Similar consumer frenzy greeted the launch of Apple’s iPad Air in New York on Friday (pictured, top right). (With agency inputs)
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