Xiaomi, which claims to be India’s leading smartphone and smart TV brand, has today announced a new innovative Mi Express Kiosk initiative across India. Basically, the Mi Express Kiosks are vending machines which allow consumers to purchase Xiaomi smartphones and mobile accessories directly.
The company revealed that the kiosks are designed to accept all forms of payments across credit cards, debit cards, cash, as well as UPI. This makes it highly convenient and hassle-free form of purchase for Xiaomi customers, says the company.
With the introduction of vending machine-style kiosks, it seems that Xiaomi is working on a new strategy for the retail markets where it aims to reach out to its consumers directly, eliminating the middleman and streamlining its operational cost.
Xiaomi India also claims that it is the first ever brand in the Indian tech industry to introduce this innovative retail model with Mi Express Kiosk. It offers the efficiency of e-commerce business making it a cost-effective approach and is scalable, says Xiaomi.
Going forward, the company is aiming to set up several more kiosks in the coming months, and will gradually expand the retail plan across more cities. Currently, these Mi Express Kiosks can be found across metro cities in public areas such as tech parks, metro stations, airports, and shopping malls.
Xiaomi has revealed that the Mi Express Kiosks will soon be installed throughout the metro cities. As for the pricing of products, each product will be offered at the same price as on Mi.com and Mi Homes. Customers can also easily access information on the locations of these kiosks on mi.com.
The China-based company also adds that the Mi Express Kiosks were researched and developed in India, although the concept has been around in China since 2018. The vending machines will be operational between 10 am to 8 pm on all working days.