Vi ramps up retail presence in rural India with the launch of nearly 1,100 Vi shops

In line with its strategy to get closer to rural consumers, leading telecom operator, Vi, has launched nearly 1,100 new format ‘Vi Shops’ across Tier 3 markets in 18 Indian states. Ramping-up its retail footprint, Vi Shops have been launched across multiple towns in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Introduced with an intent to deliver a uniform Vi experience to local customers as well as enable quick support and handholding, these Vi Shops have been rolled out in the last three months. The modern design of the new format Vi Shops is in line with signature elements that define existing Vi Stores in urban locations. Vi Shops offer the entire bouquet of Vi prepaid products and services and enable an enhanced customer experience and closer engagement.

Highlighting the strategic objective behind this retail expansion initiative, Abhijit Kishore, COO, Vodafone Idea, said “Our experience and customer research indicate that there is still a large segment of customers, beyond metros, who prefer the comfort and familiarity of face-to-face service. To enable the large rural population to be part of the digital revolution, we have taken a renewed approach to our rural retail strategy by introducing the concept of Vi Shops across multiple small towns and tier 3 markets. The launch of nearly 1100 Vi Shops within such a short time frame is one of the fastest retail expansion in the country. This will help us get closer to our customers providing them convenience and simplicity in accessing service through trained personnel in welcoming surroundings.”

Vi has remained at the forefront of introducing innovative concepts, products and services to serve the diverse aspirations of customers. Through the Vi Shops, Vi also intends to enhance awareness and adoption for Vi’s wide bouquet of Telco++ offerings, curated as a result of partnerships with domain experts in areas such as Jobs & Skilling, Govt. Exam preparation, English language skills amongst others.

Vi has planned the new rural prepaid stores by consistently adapting and reinventing to provide a live and engaging experience in line with changing customer needs. The look and feel of the Vi store is designed to address customer aspirations while capturing Vi’s core brand attitude.