India's largest electronics market isn't worried about coronavirus — because it's already facing the effects of violence in Delhi

• Shopkeepers in one of India’s largest electronic market, Nehru Place, say the violence in Delhi has had a bigger impact on sales than the coronavirus outbreak.
• Multiple vendors told Business Insider that footfall reduced by nearly 30% over the last week.
• The continued pressure is adding to the stress on sales as more people shop online, rather than beating the pavement.

Nehru Place used to bustle with activity as people rushed along the cobbled pathways navigating around hawkers offering to fix their phones or laptops. Lately, one of India’s largest electronics markets lies barren and people barely trickle in. Even fewer stop to cross the threshold of a store.

Coronavirus may be bearing heavy on new imports from China but vendors in the market believe that things only got worse after violence in the national capital last week.

Rahul Chauhan, the manager of Hotspot— a pan-India chain that sells electronic goods — who’s been working in the market for nearly six years told Business Insider, "There have been a few supply issues due to the coronavirus, but most mobile sets we sell are made in India. However, the Delhi riots have reduced footfall by nearly one-third in the past week."

"As a hub for electronics goods, people from all over India come to Nehru Place to buy computer-related items. Now, people are reluctant to visit the city," added the manager for one of five Go Mobile outlets in Nehru Place, Ranjeet Singh.


An already bad situation gets worse
Nehru Place is a highly competitive area with mobile shops lining the halls one after the other. But things only started to tread downhill after people started to buy their phones online.

"Online sales have had a huge impact. It’s been very tough to meet our targets," said Singh.

Brands like OnePlus and Xiaomi changed the way people bought their smartphone with their online-first strategies. Shops that used to shut by 7:00 pm are now open till late in the night, hoping that someone would walk in to buy a phone.


"Mobile phones being sold online took away nearly 50% of our sales," said Neeraj Kumar, the manager of Logica, an independent authorised dealer in Nehru Place.

Most of the customers that do venture into the market aren’t there to buy new products. Instead, it has now become a hub for where people come to get their laptops and mobiles fixed once they’re out of warranty. Some don’t even come for the electronics and instead, visit the mini-albeit-authorised thrift shops selling clothes, bags, shoes and other items at cheap prices.

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