The arrival of the Xiaomi Mi3 smartphone in India has seen a huge amount of interest. This phone has a lot to offer and the Xiaomi Mi3 price in India is extremely competitive, so it’s no surprise that it has been in demand. However, the sales strategy between the manufacturer and Flipkart meant that Xiaomi Mi3 out of stock problems were inevitable.
Back in July we informed readers about the Flipkart exclusivity for this phone in India, and with Flipkart being the largest e-commerce site in India that might have seemed like a sensible move. Xiaomi must have known there would be big interest in the Mi3 in India though, as the phone sold out quickly when it went on sale in China and Malaysia.
As we expected. it soon proved difficult to buy the Xiaomi Mi3 online as initial stocks sold out fast. At the beginning of August we reported that Xiaomi was to supply a further 15,000 units of the phone for sale in India on August 5th, and that this would be the third batch of stock to go on sale there. The problem here is that Xiaomi said they had already received 100,000 registrations, so the Mi3 stock problems were evident even before the units went on sale.
Xiaomi has also come in for some flak concerning blazingly quick online sell-outs, with claims that the company has been misleading. Many now feel that the way that sales of the Xiaomi Mi3 have been handled for India has been a marketing failure of mass proportions, and could have negative repercussions for both Xiaomi and Flipkart.
Many potential buyers have complained about the registration system required, that doesn’t even guarantee that you’ll get a unit and only means that customers have a chance of obtaining it. There has also been criticism about Flipkart being unable to cope with the heavy traffic, with reports of the site crashing and the Xiaomi Mi3 being out of stock so soon after sales went live.
In fact it was reported that the second and third batches that had been available sold out in a matter of seconds. Some of this was said to be due to Flipkart changing the way that sales were being handled, with shoppers only needing to add the item to their carts without immediate payment.
All of this has led some people to question how many units of the Xiaomi Mi3 have actually been available and whether it is as many as has been claimed. Other have wondered about the wisdom of a registration system that enabled so many to think they had a chance of getting the phone when such limited numbers were on offer.
Given the problems so far it’s not surprising that some customers got fed up and have now opted for another smartphone instead. Xiaomi must now be questioning whether the online exclusivity plan with Flipkart was the best course of action. With so many customers frustrated about the Xiaomi Mi3 out of stock situation, this is negativity that the company could well have done without.
To find out more about the phone please check out our previous Xiaomi Mi3 articles here, where you’ll see that there has been a huge amount of positivity for the handset itself. Bearing this in mind it seems a real shame that Xiaomi hasn’t handled sales of this device in India well, especially when the demand was there. We’d really like to know what you think about the sales strategy between Xiaomi and Flipkart for the Mi3 in India.
Are you one of the lucky ones who already managed to get their hands on this phone? Maybe you are one of the many disappointed potential buyers of this phone, in which case are you still hoping to get the Xiaomi Mi3 or have you now purchased another handset? Do let us know with your comments.