The ongoing October-December quarter is expected to see a decline in India’s smartphone sales due to the ongoing supply chain related challenges resulting in annual shipments below 160 million in 2021 as a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals. It further states, the first half of 2022 will remain challenging with some easing out expected in the latter half of 2022.
Vendors will keep an eye on the overstocking situation in case demand stays limited due to the price hikes by suppliers.
IDC reveals that India’s smartphone market registered a year-over-year decline of 12% in Q3 2021, shipping only 48 million units after four consecutive quarters of growth. Much of this can be attributed to component shortages as well as an unusually high Q3 2020 comparison base whereas this year’s post lockdown demand in India was addressed by July.
During the July-September quarter, the online channels clogged a record high of 52% share although with a 5% year-over-year shipment volume decline. At the same time, the eTailer sales festival such as the Big Billion Days on Flipkart and Amazon’s Great India Festival which started in early October is said to be the main driver of the online purchases growth.
On the other hand, offline channels registered 18% year-over-year shipment decline. IDC expects online shipments to surpass offline shipments in 2021.
The report further says that India was the third largest 5g smartphone market globally with 7% of worldwide 5g shipments, shipping 10 million units at an average selling price (ASP) of US$401in Q3 2021 behind China and the United States.
IDC believes that a growing dependency on smartphones is triggered by remote work and learning as well as a subsequent requirement for better quality hardware is pushing consumers to spend more. With continued shipping shortages and logistic cost, brands are also compelled to expand upwards in terms of price points across channels.
A report from Counterpoint research estimates that India’s 5g smartphone installed base will cross 35 million by the end of 2021. The most popular 5g models in India were the iPhone 12, OnePlus Nord CE, and Galaxy A22 as of Q3 2021.
In terms of overall market share in India, Xiaomi led the smartphone tally with 23.4%, followed by Samsung (16.9%), Vivo (16.4%), Realme (15.7%) and Oppo (10.7%) in the September 2021 quarter.
