~ Strengthening its distribution strategy, Panasonic empowers offline retailors to become a part of the online ecosystem~
New Delhi, June 17 2020: Panasonic India, a diversified technology company, today announced its partnership with the digital payment platform Benow to digitalize its offline retail network in India. Through this collaboration, Panasonic India enables its offline retailers – all Panasonic-exclusive retail partners and digital imaging (camera) stores, to sell the entire range of consumer electronic products online, thereby increasing their reach.
The Benow digital platform enables millions of consumers to reach out to Panasonic local dealers for buying Panasonic AC, televisions, refrigerators, washing machine and much more at the click of a button. The new platform does not require any capital expenditure by Panasonic’s retail partners and helps them provide a contactless purchase experience to its consumers in current times. Catering to the partners across regions, the platform can be accessed by them in local languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Telugu as well as English.
Talking about the partnership, Mr. Jialal Koundal, Group Head – Trade Marketing, Panasonic India said, “The ongoing pandemic has not only impacted consumer behaviour but also redefined how businesses operate. Further strengthening our distribution strategy & customer centricity, the association with Benow not only enables our offline retail partners to come online but also ensures that our consumers can browse, select, order, pay and receive their favorite Panasonic products from the safety and comfort of their homes. We are also supporting our retail partners with training to on-board and help them understand the new platform for seamless transactions. We expect that this will make the sales process easier and faster for not only our customers but also our retailers. We plan to extend this to all our distribution partners such as multiband outlets, national and regional retail outlets and sub-dealers, in the coming months as well.”
Extending his thoughts on the association, Soorraj V.S, Co-founder, Benow said, “Our digital solution provides a seamless and convenient shopping experience to millions of consumers of Panasonic in India. The advantage of the platform is that it does not call for yet another app download by a consumer while presenting him with a seamless app like shopping experience supported by multiple payment options. We are excited to collaborate with Panasonic India, and support them in their endeavor to provide the best of digital solutions to their offline partners and consumers there by help them in transacting seamlessly and safely during these trying times.”
Workings of the platform:
To enable a retailer to become part of the new digital platform, Panasonic will share the details of the retailor with Benow. Following this, the retailer receives a link on the mobile number from where they can register on the platform, downloads the Benow Application, and completes the digital KYC.
Retailers can make an online catalogue of products on the Benow app itself. They can edit the online catalogue based on the availability of the product, and will be able to share the link to customers via email, SMS, WhatsApp and social media.
To place an order, customer will have to put in a request via the online link. Following this, the retailer receives a notification, and checks the Benow app to get consumer details. Post contacting the customer and finalizing the deal, the retailer generates the payment link through the app.
The customer can make contactless payment through the method of their choice - cash on delivery, credit card, debit card, easy EMI, etc. Upon transaction, both the customer and the dealer will receive digital charge slips and the retailer delivers the Panasonic product to the customer.
