Airtel and Amazon come together to drive smartphone adoption in the country

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) and Amazon have entered into a strategic partnership with an aim to jointly drive smartphone adoption across the country. Millions of Indians can now become first-time owners of a 4G smartphone or upgrade to an advanced 4G smartphone of their choice at an affordable price from amongst a wide range of devices starting at an effective price of only Rs.3,399.

Vani Venkatesh, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel, said, “The partnership with Amazon India will give further momentum to our ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative which has received an extremely positive response from customers across the country. We will continue to deliver greater value to our customers and stride towards empowering every Indian to fulfil their dream of owning a smartphone and getting onto the digital superhighway.”

As part of the partnership, a total cashback of Rs.2,600 will be available on over 65 Amazon.in exclusive 4G smartphones from popular device brands, including Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Honour, LG, Lenovo and Moto, amongst others.

Customers will get Rs.2,000 of the cashback from Airtel over a period of 36 months and can avail the additional cashback of Rs.600 on Airtel recharges of Rs.169 on Amazon.in.
 

Noor Patel, Director – Category Management, Amazon India, said, “We are excited to announce our pioneering partnership with Bharti Airtel to enable Indian customers across the country get digitally savvy. Through this partnership, we are empowering customers to enjoy superior 4G technology at affordable prices with a special cashback offer upon recharging exclusively on Amazon.in. In line with our focus on customers, this offer will be available on all Amazon Exclusive smartphones for a select period on Amazon.in.”

The ownership of the 4G smartphones bought under the offer is fully with the customer and there is no need to return the device to Airtel or Amazon India at any point to claim the cash benefit. The offer will also be available on select premium 4G smartphones on Amazon.in. In case there is an existing cashback offer on the Rs.169 recharge on Amazon, customer’s account will be credited with the higher amount (i.e. Rs.25 or above whichever is higher).

Under the “Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone” initiative, Airtel aims to join hands with partners to create an “open ecosystem” of affordable 4G smartphones and bring them to market for virtually the price of a feature phone. The initiative has been continuing to receive a phenomenal response since its launch last year.