Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of its Online Store (www.airtel.in/onlinestore) that the company claims will offer a range of premium smartphones at affordable down payments. Buyers can also avail of facilities like instant credit verification and financing, and bundled monthly plans at the company’s Online Store.
As part of the inagural offer, the country’s number one mobile service provider is offering Apple iPhone 7 at attractive down payments. The company plans to soon add other premium smartphones to its store.
Apple iPhone 7 (32GB) is available at a down payment of just Rs 7,777 and 24 monthly installments of Rs 2499 each. The monthly installments have a built-in high-end postpaid plan which offers 30GB data, unlimited calling (local, STD, national roaming), and Airtel Secure package that covers the device against any physical damage and offers cyber protection.
Airtel’s Online Store launch is part of its Project Next, the company’s digital innovation program aimed at transforming customer experience across all of its services and touch points.
In a statement, Airtel said that it plans to invest up to Rs 2,000 crore under Project Next.
An integrated digital platform, Airtel Online Store aims to make it easier for customers to upgrade to high-end smartphones, without the constraint of high put-down prices and cumbersome financing schemes. According to the company, all smartphones on the platform will come with down payments that are a fraction of the market price of the device and the convenience of easy monthly instalments with a built-in postpaid plan.
Harmeen Mehta, Global CIO & Director – Engineering, Bharti Airtel said, “This is yet another exciting digital innovation from Airtel to delight customers. Not only are we making it easier for millions of customers to upgrade to devices they always wanted, we are also making the entire process seamless and simple through digital technologies. Imagine getting your dream device, instant credit to purchase it and a great plan to go with it, all available in one place with a few clicks. All this is a product of some cutting-edge digital engineering by the in-house teams at Airtel. We would also like to thank our partners for integrating their APIs seamlessly with our platform to enable a great customer experience.”
Airtel has partnered with Apple, HDFC Bank, Clix Capital, Seynse Technologies, Brightstar Telecommunications and Vulcan Express to enable the digital experience on its Online Store.
The Online Store services are currently available to customers in 21 cities across India and will be expanded to other cities and towns in the coming months.