How much would you shell out for a smartphone with the latest multi-core processor or a superior quad-rear camera set-up? Fortunately, it’s not as much as you might imagine. Over the last few years, smartphones have progressively become more affordable.
Today’s best mobile under 15000 INR is a surprisingly capable mobile device that offers phone specifications you would otherwise find on high-end smartphone models. The fact is that when looking for a budget smartphone, like the Vivo V19, you’d be surprised by the limited number of compromises you would have to make.
So what has caused this drastic decline in the price of smartphones? This article tries to answer why smartphones have progressively become more affordable. Also, if you are on a strict budget, does it make sense to buy a smartphone today, or should you wait for prices to fall even further? So let’s get straight into it.
#1 Competitive Pricing
One of the biggest reasons for smartphone prices to see a decline is the competitive pricing strategy that most manufacturers have adopted to outplay one another. The go-to strategy for most successful smartphone manufacturers is to offer phones with more or less the same specification as to their competitor’s model at a lower price. This strategy is a win-win for both the manufacturer and the consumer.
For the manufacturer, this means that they can focus their business strategy on the volume of product, and consumers get the same features and specifications but at a lower price. Today, competitive pricing has resulted in consumers having a choice of more than a hundred smartphones in the 8,000 INR – 15,000 INR price range.
#2 Chinese Market Domination
When Chinese smartphone brands entered the Indian market, they didn’t wait to get a feel of how they would be received; they launched themselves with a bang! The Chinese smartphone market was, at the time, similar to the Indian market. This gave these brands greater insights into the kind of strategies that would work.
Packaging great value with affordability was a strategy that paid great dividends, and soon enough, you had a long line of eager customers. The Chinese worked on a “zero marketing” strategy, essentially letting the products speak for themselves. The savings from successful marketing campaigns were passed on to customers in the form of more affordable smartphones.
#3 “Chinese” Make in India
No-one has taken more advantage of the Make in India initiative than the Chinese. The smartphone manufacturers took advantage of almost every aspect of Indian manufacturing. Starting by making the most of the reduced import tariff (currently at 5%) set by the government, these companies began assembling their phones domestically. This saw a reduction in their overall manufacturing and logistical costs. Eventually, this “Make in India ” strategy worked wonders and resulted in a significant fall in prices of their smartphone line up. Today, almost all Chinese smartphone manufacturers have a domestic manufacturing hub in India.
#4 Smart Sourcing
Smartphone brands have adopted a smart sourcing strategy of buying parts in bulk, thereby reducing the cost of the final product. The sheer volume of parts obtained from suppliers has meant that manufacturers can spread the cost of manufacturing through the entire line-up of their products. Smartphones under the same brand have been known to use similar parts like processors, cameras, RAM, and others for their entire product range(low/mid/high). This allows them to keep costs down and, in part, has allowed them to launch phones at exceedingly lower prices and still manage to make a profit.
Tired of making compromises on your budget? You can now buy your favourite smartphone by using the EMI Network Card of the Bajaj Finserv. Just swipe the EMI Network Card like any credit or debit card, and pay for your new phone in easy EMIs.
