Touted as a means to “elevate customer service in India”, this tie-up will allow Indian consumers to purchase the upcoming phone from Reliance’s wide network of brick-and-mortar electronics stores spread across the country.
OnePlus Ties Up With Reliance for Offline Sales of the 6T Mobile
While the dominant smartphone players in the country such as Apple and Samsung have largely made the massive logistical investment of retail distribution, OnePlus is following suit this time around with the 6T, which will be launched on October 29. Indian consumers will now be able to touch and feel the OnePlus 6T at the Reliance Digital outlets before purchasing the same at the outlets.
What’s more, buying the upcoming phone offline at Reliance Digital stores will also entail special promotional offers and campaigns tailored for such offline purchases. These offers include credit and debit card-based cashbacks, no cost EMI for three-month plans, free damage protection from Kotak Servify.
Here’s OnePlus official statement on the move coming from Vikas Agarwal, General Manager for the company’s Indian operations:
“The premium smartphone segment in India is steadily growing, and OnePlus seeks to more effectively tap into this space, with a nifty strategy combining both online and offline platforms for a holistic reach. This partnership with Reliance Digital will equip OnePlus with a more robust physical presence, enabling the brand to cater to its increasing user base through multiple touch points across cities. The focus on curating only the best user experience by Reliance Digital resonates with that of OnePlus’ user philosophy.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the only time OnePlus has embraced the offline sales route. Last year, the company had tied up with Tata’s retail chain Croma for the exclusive rights to bringing OnePlus devices to the offline market. This isn’t surprising since the company’s marketing and overall approach is geared towards extending the demographic scope from niche tech enthusiasts to the general public. As such, the OnePlus CEO Pete Lau had recently revealed that the offline sales network accounted for an impressive third of the company’s total sales revenue for the country.
OnePlus 7 Could be One of the First 5G Smartphones
Even as the OnePlus 6T gears for launch, the word is already out that OnePlus is quite likely to launch a 5G smartphone next year. The basis for this news comes from Qualcomm announcing that at least two new 5G smartphones will be announced featuring the company’s new chipset next year. Interestingly, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei took to the stage thereafter to tell the audience that his company has already conducted a successful 5G phone test in August and that a OnePlus 5G device is headed for the market soon.
Although Samsung, LG, Lenovo, Huawei and Honor have also announced their plans to launch 5G phones next year, the presence of OnePlus at the Qualcomm launch and a rather optimistic announcement of its 5G progress could be a sign that the rumoured OnePlus 7 could be one of the first few phones to work on the 5G spectrum.
While the reasonably priced aspect seems to be diminishing with each subsequent iteration of the OnePlus smartphone, the gradual metamorphosis of the brand from a maker of relatively cheaper flagship-grade smartphones to relatively more expensive yet better specced flagship-grade phone has ensured better perks for consumers. One of these perks being better offline availability. The recent 5G development too could figure into the slow but steady ascent of the price at which each new iteration of OnePlus phones is being sold.
