Mobile phone manufacturers seek to layout online channels

"Currently, looking for product differentiation and grasping the product sales initiative as much as possible has become the focus of this year's mobile phone manufacturer's transformation." The head of a domestic brand mobile phone manufacturer recently said that channels have begun to change, many manufacturers have focused on opening up Brand experience shop. "And has begun to seek more channels of cooperation, which e-commerce channel has been the focus of many mobile phone manufacturers this year."

At present, domestic manufacturers sell mobile phones mainly through operators' channels. However, many companies have used or built e-commerce channels to expand market share. Industry insiders frankly stated that mobile phone manufacturers have little experience in the distribution of online channels, and traffic flow is still a waiting target.

Similar products and similar channels make the survival of domestic mobile phone manufacturers miserable.

In terms of channels, taking Huawei as an example, the channels of its mobile phones are mainly composed of operators, open channels, and electronic channels. At present, shipments from operators' channels account for approximately 70%, while domestic manufacturers such as Lenovo, ZTE, and Coolpad also mainly Bundled through operator channels.

“This year Coolpad has planned to invest more in e-commerce channels and expects to sell 3 million mobile phones and other accessories through its own e-commerce platform this year.” Su Jin, vice president of Coolpad, told reporters that cooperation with operators is of course Cool has been achieved, but relying solely on operators' single channels can no longer meet the increasingly fierce market competition demands.

“Traditional channels account for more than 90% of the overall market share of domestic brands, and e-commerce channels currently account for less than 10%.” Su Jin said that e-commerce channels are not necessarily superior to traditional distribution channels in terms of cost, but branding and For product improvement, e-commerce is one of the most direct channels.

At present, the domestic mobile phone manufacturers' self-built online malls are still in their infancy. Most of the sales are mainly through third-party e-commerce platforms.

“But these third-party platforms are more like sales platforms and have limited resources.” Lin Lechang, the founder of joy shopping network, told reporters that for platforms like JD.com and Tmall, the number of cooperating companies may reach 100, in order to buy a good position, Mobile phone manufacturers have to “bleed heavily” before generating revenue. What's more, in the interaction between sales and product brands, mobile phone manufacturers are usually in a passive position. "The profit and brand premium that mobile phone manufacturers can get are limited."

In contrast, its own e-commerce platform looks more like a money-burning platform.

“In terms of cost, if production, sales, platform construction, distribution, and after-sales services are all e-commercialized, the costs involved will be significant. Taking the example of setting up the platform and staffing, if you start from scratch, the team of 100 people come at least. Each month requires a fee of one or two million.” Lin Lechang told reporters that there are certain risks in building an e-commerce platform.