Snapdeal, Amazon sales flop: Samsung, LG, Sony may be partly responsible

While Snapdeal had a torrid day on social media on Tuesday post its Snapdeal Savings Day sales scheme, the Amazon Appiness Day failed to generate buzz for the e-tailer and part of the reason for this lack of enthusiasm may be miffed consumer electronics manufacturers who had no intention of footing deep discounts.

Business Standard reports that consumer goods manufacturers like LG, Samsung, Videocon, Sony and Panasonic had told their trade partners that if they sold products with deep discounts during flash sales on e-retailers the buyers of the products wouldn't be eligible for after-sales service or warranty.

The companies, angered by the deep discounts offered during Flipkart's Big Billion Day flash sale, have also reportedly initiated talks with online retailers about fair pricing of their products and one of them was quoted as saying that they had done it in order to protect the offline retailers.

Offline retailers and consumer goods companies have accused online retailers in the past of predatory pricing by offering deep discounts during their flash sales, something that the e-retailers have denied. 

During its online sale yesterday, Snapdeal received a lot of flak for offering products that customers claimed they were unable to get access to.

Offline retailers have been accusing e-retailers of offering discounts that are unviable for them to emulate.

But as Firstbiz columnist Vivek Kaul had pointed out at the time that the e-commerce companies have managed to do as well as they have because they have managed to get around the inefficiencies built into the Indian retail system.

"Like offline players they do not need to maintain a huge physical infrastructure like showrooms, godowns etc., to sell their goods. They can also buy goods directly from companies producing them and get a better deal in the process. These goods can be then directly sold to prospective consumers without having to go through an elaborate distribution channel," he noted.

With major electronic firms putting their foot down on pricing, it's not clear whether e-commerce companies will manage to go round it to continue attracting customers. For now, don't expect any major discounts on your favourite retailer.