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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp said on Monday it will launch an e-commerce service in India this week to allow customers trapped in their homes during a national shutdown to buy their products from their local retailer.
The new service, Mi Commerce, will allow consumers to browse online products available at a store near their home and place orders, said Muralikrishnan B, COO of Xiaomi India. Delivery will be made by the partner store.
The service will be rolled out across India and will be continued by Xiaomi once the lockout ends if it is successful.
Xiaomi is the largest smartphone company in India by shipments with a 30% market share, ahead of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Ltd, according to Counterpoint, a Hong Kong-based technology researcher.
However, like its rivals, Xiaomi’s sales have been affected during the shutdown to contain the coronavirus. Stores in India are closed and online sales have slowed as e-commerce websites like Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart suspended mobile phone sales to focus on home goods deliveries.
India is the largest Xiaomi market outside of China.
The national shutdown started on March 25 and lasted until May 17, although there are some relaxations.
“We are (offering) business continuity in offline commerce, especially given the context that people will obviously be concerned about visiting offline stores due to concerns about safety, hygiene, virus spread,” Muralikrishnan told reporters at through an Internet transmission.
Xiaomi will also help provide working capital loans to its partners through its offer of credit, said the head of the company in India, Manu Jain.
(Report from Sankalp Phartiyal; Susan Fenton Edition)
