Vi Expands Rural Retail Footprint in Kerala

KOCHI:
Rapid broadband penetration has led to increased digitalization in the country over the last few years. Further catalyzing digital growth by connecting the next 500 mn digitally unconnected population of the country, India’s leading telecom operator, Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) has planned its largest retail expansion since its brand launch.

To ramp up its retail footprint at the sub district level, Vi has rolled out 80 new format ‘Vi Shops’ across many towns in Kerala. Small towns like Payyoli, Peringathur, Iritty, Nileswaram, Thazhava, Thuravoor, Pambadi, Paika, Ayarkunnam, Kulanada, Ranni, Palode and others will now get access to quick,
efficient, face-to-face service from Vi, along with a range of differentiated products and offerings for the new age mobile users in the region.

Starting with 5 circles to deepen its retail presence, Vi has rolled out 300 new format ‘Vi Shops’ across multiple towns in Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and UP West. Vi plans to further strengthen its local presence and enhance engagement with mobile users by expanding its retail footprint to cover more rural markets in the coming few months.

The Vi Shops concept for Tier 3 towns is intended to deliver a uniform Vi experience to local customers, enabling quick support and handholding. The modern design of the new format store is in line with signature elements that define existing Vi Stores in urban locations. Vi Shops will offer the entire bouquet of Vi prepaid products and services and enable the less tech savvy users to avail Vi’s service across the table, leading to improved customer experience and closer engagement.

Through this format, Vi also intends to deepen in engagement with rural consumers with the wide bouquet of Telco++ offerings, curated as a result of partnerships with domain experts in areas such as Jobs & Skilling, Govt. Exam preparation, English language skills amongst others.

Speaking on the new retail initiative, Abhijit Kishore, COO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said “Vi has been at the forefront to introduce innovative concepts, products and services that cater to the fast changing environment as well as customer needs and preferences. There is still a large segment of customers in Rural India, who prefer the comfort and familiarity of face-to-face service through the physical Retail format. Further, rural has been driving the growth of mobile internet usage in India. To cater to this demand, we are taking a renewed approach to our rural retail strategy, through our Vi Shop concept, which will enable millions of Indians to digitally connect for a better future. Vi customers in several Tier 3 towns across 5 circles including West Bengal, can now walk into the neighbourhood Vi shop with assured ease and simplicity in accessing service through trained personnel in welcoming surroundings.”

One of the earliest to introduce the concept of one-stop shop Retail outlets in global design format, Vi has planned the new rural prepaid stores by consistently adapting and reinventing to provide a live and engaging experience in line with changing customer needs. The look and feel of the Vi store is designed to address
customer aspirations while capturing Vi’s core brand attitude.

Vi is a strong market player in the 5 circles of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and UP West. To offer 5G for a Better Tomorrow, Vi has acquired 5G spectrum across all these markets to offer services in the future. It has developed a wide range of 5G use cases for consumers and enterprises in areas such as SmartAgri, Healthcare, Education, Immersive Cloud Gaming, Public Safety, Worker Safety and other Industry 4.0 applications which were demonstrated on its Live 5G network at India Mobile Congress in New Delhi recently.