Nokia smartphones still in short supply offline in Russia?

Russia is among the top 5 biggest smartphone markets on the planet, and thanks to the geopolitical situation, the market is becoming more and more interesting with multiple operating systems being present there (Aurora OS, Sailfish), Android One restrictions, etc.

A month and a half ago, we covered user reports from that interesting market regarding the shortage of Nokia phones there. Back then, a bunch of Nokia phones were out of stock (Nokia 2.2, 6.1, 7.1, 9 PureView), with a lot more being marked as in short supply in the official Nokia store.

If we check the situation now, the official Nokia mobile webstore has all the device (but the Nokia 1 Plus) in stock, which is great for users that purchase their devices online. The situation seems to be a bit different offline, with users on Russian social media VK and our readers complaining how it is impossible to find a Nokia devices offline outside Moscow.

Offline market still sells the majority of phones in Russia and a strong offline presence will help any company achieve good results there. Offline availability is also harder to achieve, because you need contracts with distributors, stores and operators, and often smartphone vendors have to offer good deals for retailers to “carry” their devices.

It’s important that users in Russia have a place to purchase new Nokia phones and that’s the official Nokia store. It would be even better if the offline presence of Nokia smartphones could be improved.