Bangalore: Heavy discounting by online retailers including Flipkart, Infibeam and Snapdeal on popular Smartphones and tablets like iPhone 5, Galaxy S4 and iPad has seriously affected the electronic retail chains such as Future Group’s eZone and Reliance Digital, reports Economic Times.

The retail chains such as the Mobile Store, Reliance Digital, Future Group and Next Retail have approached mobile brands like Apple, Samsung, Nokia and BlackBerry asking them to impose strict pricing policies on online shopping websites.

Rajan Malhotra, President at India’s largest listed retailer Future Group, which runs 38 eZone stores says, “Indiscriminate discounting by online stores affects our sales to quite an extent.”He added saying, “If we get pushed due to such discounting, we definitely have to push back with the brands.”

For instance, the Apple iPhone 5 is available online for 40, 950 while at retail chains and Apple stores it is sold for 45, 000. The BlackBerry Z10 is sold at less than 40, 000 online against the retail price of 42, 499. Such heavy discounting is available on products such as the iPad, Samsung Galaxy S4 and Nokia Lumia.

As per industry estimates, modern retail contributes around 12 percent of the 37,000 crore mobile phone and tablet market in India while online retailers make up around 4-5 percent.

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