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B K Modi-promoted Spice Group’s e-commerce arm Saholic.com is banking on theft insurance on mobile handset purchase to boost sales.
The company is offering one-year worldwide theft insurance for handsets at the time of purchase on the portal.
“Theft of mobile handsets is increasing at a rapid pace. But, getting insurance for high-value handsets directly from the insurance companies is a hassle. We have made it hassle-free. At the time of buying, the customer would be given an option to pay 1.5 per cent of the handset cost extra as premium for the theft insurance,” said Saholic.com CEO Rajneesh Arora. New India Assurance is the insurance provider.
During the trial, the company has recorded that more than 35 per cent of the handset buyers are buying the insurance at the time of purchase, he added.
Going forward, Saholic.com, that started operations in May 2011, will extend the theft insurance offering to other mobility products that the company sells through the e-commerce portal. It sells, mobile handsets, tablets, laptops, accessories and cameras. About 70 per cent of its revenue comes from mobile handset sales at present.
“We also have plans to introduce insurance for damage of mobility products sold through our e-commerce portal,” he said, adding that it would be introduced in next four to eight weeks.
Meanwhile, Arora said that the company also has plans to spread wings in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia where Spice Group already has presence in mobile handset retailing. “This would take some time,” he added. In India, it will focus on tier-II and tier-III markets over the next few years.
