How Brand EMI can drive festive sales growth - Plural by Pine Labs

How Brand EMI can drive festive sales growth

The festive season is one of the most important periods for businesses today. This is a time when consumers are looking to splurge on purchases of a much higher value than usual From mobile phones and electronics to beauty and fashion products to automobiles, there’s a significant rise in consumer demand for branded products during festive times. 

September 2024, for instance, saw online businesses clock collective sales of $6.5 billion within a span of one week. A large chunk of these festive sales comprised purchases of products with a higher average selling price (ASP) made via EMI (equated monthly installments) payments by consumers from smaller towns and cities. 

Businesses that capitalise on this demand with attractive EMIs can achieve their goals much faster. For instance, they can drive sales, accelerate growth, and meet sales targets early in the season.

One of the best strategies for converting eager browsers into customers is to offer brand EMIs at the point of sale. Let’s understand what a brand EMI is, the key benefits of this model, and how it works.  

What are Brand EMIs? 

A brand EMI is a type of zero-cost EMI accessible to customers at the point of sale; the concerned brand absorbs the interest cost on a product or service purchased by a customer. The total value of the product is divided into multiple instalments ranging between three and 12 months.

The customer pays the monthly installment without any interest. Thus, this EMI category differs from a regular EMI, where the consumer pays interest as part of the monthly installment.

During the festive season, customers go shopping with a mindset of accessing higher value at a reasonable price. In particular, they want to invest in superior brands that guarantee quality and durability. Thus, a brand EMI is an ideal format to help businesses drive sales growth at a time when customers aspire to buy branded products with a higher ASP. 

Why Brand EMI is a game changer for festives

A snapshot of key advantages delivered by brand EMIs:

1. Boost Customer Interest in Branded Products 

Brands continue to have an aspirational value in a consumer’s mindset due to aspects such as credibility, status, and quality. However, they consider branded products to be more expensive. Thus, high prices can be deterrents. 

A combination of brand EMI with unique festive offers on branded products can attract brand loyalty as well as newer audiences to make a purchase.  

2. Enable High-ticket Purchases

Brand EMIs sweeten the deal for customers looking to buy expensive products, such as electronics, at a reasonable price. Aside from not having to pay a lump sum, they can split the value of high-ticket purchases into manageable instalments that align with their monthly cash flows. Yet they only pay the market price.   

3. Enhances Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

Consumers continue to have faith in timeless brands with a superior reputation. Businesses can capitalise on brand equity via the brand EMI model, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty to their platforms.  

4. Strengthen Brand Partnerships

The brand EMI plays an important role in enabling strong B2B loyalty. By increasing the sales of branded products, businesses can nurture strong brand partnerships with product vendors. This approach paves the way for a sustainable, reliable supply chain and the best-branded product deals, even during challenging times. 

5. Wider Reach to Non-Credit Card Holders

The brand EMI is an inclusive, flexible point-of-sale loan model. This is because even non-credit card holders can reap the benefits by using their debit cards. Customers can also use net banking, thus having the power of choice when it comes to payments. 

6. Increased Customer Affordability without Sacrificing Margins

Brands are always looking to enable customer affordability without having to slash prices via discounts, which eat into profit margins. With the introduction of brand EMIs, brands can make their products affordable for customers without sacrificing their margins. Thus, they can drive both revenues and profitability. 

How Do Brand EMIs work?

Businesses must make investments in superior payment infrastructure early on to best harness the power of brand EMIs.

For instance, by integrating a single, unified software solution such as Plural Gateway by Pinelabs, businesses can power seamless, transparent, and secure EMI transactions.

This is an AI-powered automated solution custom-designed to simplify the workflow for all transactions, including brand EMI transactions. This solution enables businesses to take a data-centric approach to solving payment challenges and scale much faster with efficiency and accuracy. 

Here is a step-wise breakdown of the Gateway’s transaction workflow: 

  • Once the Plural Gateway is integrated, businesses can curate the brand EMI offers directly on the platform.  
  • Based on the product code and product amount, offers are mapped to the product that is displayed on the brand’s website. 
  • Once the customer has added the product to the car and returned to make a payment, they can select the relevant offer and punch in their card details.  
  • The scheme validation API runs to check the velocity and bank identification number (BIN)  applicability 
  • Upon successful scheme validation, the customer can avail the offer and proceed to complete the payment
  • The authenticity of the product is checked and confirmed. For instance, International Mobile Equipment Identity validation takes place to ensure that the product sold belongs to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), preventing the transaction. 

To Wrap Up

Brand EMIs come with specific benefits that are especially relevant during the festive season. Businesses can attract premium buyers, increase sales, boost the average order value, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Ensuring that customers can enjoy a secure, transparent, and seamless transaction experience is equally important. This is where partnering with a superior payment specialist helps businesses simplify the transaction workflow and deliver a 100% success rate.  

Plural by Pine Labs offers Plural Gateway, a comprehensive solution that empowers businesses to automate and build a data-centric approach toward payments. The Gateway offers customers a seamless experience when choosing the brand EMI option. Additionally, customers can avail of over 100 modes of payment.These include payments via credit cards, debit cards, and net banking and EMI options such as debit card/credit card EMIs, cardless EMIs, and specialised EMI cards.

Additionally, the Gateway offers features such as UPI Autopay for subscription services, customisable payment links, and the Buy Now Pay Later facility, which empowers businesses to offer an inclusive payment experience to a spectrum of customers. The Gateway is also upgraded as per all the latest RBI regulations, thus ensuring compliance for businesses. 

Reach out to us to start a conversation now! 

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