More than 50 per cent of consumers buy smartphones on EMIs, the company says

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 phones are displayed during an event in New York | Photo Credit: JEENAH MOON

South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said that its flagship products like foldable smartphones which cost more than ₹1.10 lakh, are getting traction in tier-2 and 3 cities, too, and looking at such trends, the company is expanding its stores to 9,000 outlets from around 7,500 right now.

“Strategy within Samsung is that we need to make it available in more number of shops. So, from 7,500 we will go to 9,000-plus shops, so there will be a 20 per cent increase in our distribution and availability in the shop, which means that we will be investing more in demos. We will improve availability at the shops so that consumers can get a better idea of the look and feel of the phone. Secondly, we are investing a lot in training our Samsung Experience Center (SEC) employees so that our consumers can get the best experience of the new Fold (latest smartphone),” Aditya Babbar, Vice-President, MX Business, Samsung India, told businessline.

He said the company has recrafted its entire affordability plan because with premiumisation, affordability is at the centre of consumer decisions and, therefore, it wants to empower the consumer with choices.

“There was a time when people would have walked in and said, ‘give me a ₹30,000 to ₹50,000 phone’, but today the language has changed and they say “Give me a phone which is at ₹4,000 EMI,” so that’s how we have built on what is the right EMI for a consumer and how do I bring that consumer proposition,” Babbar explained, adding that more than 50 per cent of the consumers buy on EMIs.

According to Counterpoint Research, India sold 5.30 lakh foldable smartphones in the 2024 calendar year and Samsung had a market share of more than 80 per cent. Apart from Samsung, companies such as Vivo, Oppo and Motorola sell foldable smartphones.

On artificial intelligence (AI) enabled smartphones, he said Samsung has democratised AI in its smartphones, starting with a smartphone priced around ₹20,000 and shown multi-model capability – customisable options for the consumer to choose from.

He said the company has built a lot of solutions on AI, which are on-device as well as on cloud, and they are customised in line with the Indian consumer’s needs. Babbar added that out of 24 flagship smartphones, 17 are now AI-enabled.

The company on Wednesday launched Galaxy Z Fold7 starting at ₹1.75 lakh up to ₹2.11 lakh; Galaxy Flip7 FE priced at ₹89,999 to ₹95,999; and Galaxy Flip7 at ₹1,09,999 to ₹1,21,999.

“Galaxy Z Fold7 combines Galaxy AI with powerful hardware to deliver our most advanced smartphone experience yet. This next chapter of foldables brings together design and engineering, with AI built specifically for the foldable form. It gives people the ultra experience they want — powerful, immersive, intelligent, and portable all in one,” T.M. Roh, President and Acting Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics, said.

Published on July 9, 2025