When two bigwigs club up together, the outcome is something encouraging. Skype has joined hands with Wal-Mart in a distribution deal to enable customers pick up Skype products from the retailers in USA.
As per the deal, Wal-Mart will sell a number of Skype-certified products such as webcams, headsets and handsets from the recognized manufacturers including Plantronics, Philips, and Logitech in more than 1800 Wal-Mart stores. These products allow customers to enjoy Skype services such as voice, video calls and instant messaging.
Don Albert, Vice President and General Manager of Skype North America briefed,
We applaud Wal-Mart for recognizing the popularity of Skype and making it more accessible to Wal-Mart shoppers. This relationship with Wal-Mart will increase exposure for Skype and our hardware partners in a single dedicated Internet communications section.
Wal-Mart will sell Skype certified headsets for $15, webcams for $25 and handsets for $30 from different hardware developers. In addition to Skype products, the customers can also get pre-paid Skype cards for $20.
Skype is not the first company to sell its products in Wal-Mart stores. Vonage has also associated with Wal-Mart to sell its products. It means that VoIP players are now joining with retailers to hit the mass market.
Nearly 9.9 percent of all landlines in USA were VoIP lines last year. It would touch 34.1 percent in the next three years. Therefore, it is highly beneficial for the VoIP players to get associated with retailers to cater the demand for VoIP products.
