Samsung India partners Facebook to enable offline retailers go digital

It has been obviously very tough for retailers to sell their products through physical stores during the lockdown. Bringing a solution to this problem, India's leading phone brand, Samsung has partnered with leading social media and technology firm Facebook, to train offline retailers go digital in a big way.

Samsung’s latest initiative, which it claims as the first and biggest of its kind in the country, will enable thousands of the company’s offline partners become part of an online ecosystem and reach out to a larger base of consumers, in a world swiftly moving digital.

For consumers, this will help them access product information and allow them to purchase Galaxy smartphones through the social media pages of their local retailers.

In the first phase, Samsung and Facebook have already trained more than 800 offline retailers, with more training sessions lined up in the coming weeks.

The major focus of trainings is on enabling offline retailers to build a digital presence through the Facebook family of apps – Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Samsung assures that the intensive training is helping Samsung’s offline retailers make their business known locally, and build credibility among the local population by setting-up their business pages and accounts on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. As a result, offline retailers are likely to witness a growth in their business as they discover more local consumers online. The presence of local Samsung retailers on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp will help consumers reach out to their local retailers for more information about their desired Galaxy smartphone, and shop for Galaxy smartphones on the platform of their choice.

“Consumers are at the heart of everything we do at Samsung. Over the last two months, our focus has been to adapt our business model to suit the changing needs of our consumers. We have taken a number of steps to enable the doorstep delivery of both our products and services to ensure social distancing. Our partnership with Facebook is helping a large number of our retail partners go digital in a big way. By leveraging Facebook training, our retail partners will be able to discover and target local consumers digitally. Consumers too will benefit as they can now access product information and shop for Galaxy smartphones through Social Media pages of their local retailers,” said Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

“With the changing environment around COVID-19, people are spending more time on digital platforms including the Facebook family of apps. This has led brands to alter go-to-market models by adapting to changes in the value chain, rapidly digitizing key journeys. Facebook has partnered closely with key clients including Samsung on this journey. With our industry-leading digital skilling resources, we partnered with Samsung to skill their leading offline retailers, enabling them to reach out to consumers in their natural habitat of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp seamlessly, and helping the business adapt to the new normal,” said Prasanjeet Dutta Baruah, Vertical Head – Technology, Telecom, Automotive and New Business at Facebook India.