Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 06: Smartphone prices have jumped and sales have slipped. Brands are stretching EMI tenures to 30 months and absorbing interest costs. Easy finance is now central to festive demand.
This festive season, electronics brands are cutting monthly payments, not just prices. They are stretching EMI tenures to as long as 30 months. That is six to eight months longer than usual. The aim is to ease pressure from steep price rises and revive demand.
The catch is cost. Brands are absorbing much of the financing bill themselves.
Prices test demand
Handset prices have climbed 30–35% on average, industry estimates show. Smartphone sales fell more than 12% between January and September.
New launches have been costlier still. Kailash Lakhyani of the All India Mobile Retailers Association says new models debuted 30–70% higher. His body represents more than 150,000 stores. He calls EMI schemes the most vital driver of festive phone retail.
How longer EMIs work
A longer tenure spreads the same price over more months. Each instalment shrinks, making a costly phone feel more manageable. The handset itself does not get cheaper.
Under no-cost EMI, the brand pays the interest instead of the buyer. In some regular schemes, brands also cover part of the interest.
Haier India CEO Satish NS says brands’ interest costs range from 8% to 18%. That applies to no-cost schemes running eight to 30 months. Tenures beyond 30 months, he says, can carry interest of about 24%. Longer credit therefore comes at the expense of margins.
Brands stretch repayments
For the first time, Samsung offers 30-month no-cost EMI on foldables and S26 phones. Its A series gets 18 months, while Fold and Flip financing can reach 40. Vivo offers 30-month no-cost EMI on its flagship and 24 months on premium models.
Xiaomi mixes no-cost and low-cost EMIs for up to 18 months. Oppo, Realme and Nothing have also lengthened their schemes. Realme told retailers longer schemes cut instalments, lift conversions and drive volumes.
Finance moves downmarket
The bigger shift is in cheaper phones. Entry and mid-range handsets once had short EMIs of eight to 10 months, or none. Some brands now offer 18 months on these models. Counterpoint’s Tarun Pathak says schemes now reach the sub-₹20,000 segment. That is where demand has been hit hardest.
Consumer finance now accounts for 42–43% of smartphone sales, up from about 35%. More than 65% of premium phones are bought on EMIs.
At Flipkart, EMIs make up about a third of mobile and electronics sales. Vice-president Gaurav Arora expects nearly half for high-value festive purchases.
Appliances follow
The trend now extends beyond phones. Smart TV shipments fell an estimated 8%, Counterpoint says. Average TV prices rose nearly 10%.
Brands are offering 18–24-month EMIs on TVs, fridges and washing machines. Haier offers 24-month no-cost EMI on premium TVs. Godrej Appliances offers up to 18 months.
Credit joins the price tag
Easy finance is becoming part of the price tag. Brands are trading margin for affordability. The festive season will show whether stronger festive demand justifies that cost.
