Indian smartphone market dips to 3-year low, says IDC

Smartphone shipment in India declined by 10% to hit a three-year low of 43 million shipments in the July-September 2022 period, market research firm International Data Corporation said. The 5G smartphone share reached 36% of total smartphones during the reported quarter with 16 million units at a slightly higher average selling price of $393, about Rs 32,000, a piece compared to $377, about Rs 30,600, in the previous quarter.

India smartphone market declined 10% year-over-year shipping 43 million units in July-September 2022. This was the lowest third-quarter shipment since 2019 despite an earlier onset of the Diwali festivities. Weakening demand and increasing device prices negatively impacted festive buying, IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report said.

Experts said that the inventory pile-up and post-festive cyclical demand tapering will lead to a muted December 2022 quarter and the annual shipment of 2022 is likely to decline by 8-9% to around 150 million units.

The major challenges going into 2023 are the impact of inflation on consumer demand, increasing device costs, and slow feature phone-to-smartphone migration. However, the migration of 4G smartphone users to 5G smartphones should give a growth fillip to the market in 2023, especially in the mid-premium and above segments.

The report further highlights, online channels had the upper hand during the September 2022 quarter as they clocked a record 58% share, although with flat year-over-year growth with shipment of 25 million units. Multiple rounds of e-tailer sales like The Big Billion Days on Flipkart and Amazon Great India Festival, were supported by preferential platform pricing, online exclusive deals, and offers and discounts.

Amidst all the action in the online channels, offline shipments declined by 20% Year-on-Year as they struggled to generate demand while competing with aggressive online plays.

Xiaomi led the smartphone market during the quarter with 21.2% share while Apple led the premium category with a 63% share in the segment. Samsung regained second slot with 18.5% share. It was followed by Vivo with 14.6% share, Realme 14.2%, and Oppo 12.5% market share.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA