Smartphones in Indian market hit record of 53 million units, Samsung leads the race

Smartphone markets in India seem to have taken a high as it has managed to reach 53 million unit sales in July-September 2020 claims Counterpoint Research report.

"The push from the brands coupled with the pent-up demand due to the lockdown and strong sales on online platforms led to this growth. Consumers still prefer online platforms due to Covid-19 fears," it added.

Samsung led the race with a 24 per cent share, followed by Xiaomi (23 per cent), Vivo (16 per cent), Realme (15 percent) and Oppo (10 per cent).

Samsung's aggressive push in online channels, with the highest ever online contribution within its portfolio, also helped it regain its number one spot, it added.

Xiaomi slipped to number two positions for the first time since Q3 2018 with 4 per cent y-o-y decline.

"Manufacturing constraints due to the Covid-19 situation affected its supply chain, leading to a supply-demand gap. With ramped-up manufacturing, strong demand for the Redmi 9 and Note 9 series, aggressive product strategy and growing offline presence, we believe Xiaomi will come back strongly in the coming quarter," the report said.

Counterpoint Research Analyst Shilpi Jain said during the start of the quarter, there were some anti-China consumer sentiments, impacting sales of brands originating from China.

"However, these sentiments have subsided as consumers are weighing in different parameters during the purchase as well. The brands have been quite aggressive as they started building up inventory much ahead of the festive season. Focus on online channels has been increasing due to the Covid-19 situation," she added.

Jain said even the offline-centric brands like Vivo, Oppo and Itel are increasing their online presence due to the changing consumer behaviour.

"Though online channels remain in focus, OEMs are also trying to leverage new opportunities in offline channels in tier II and III cities... Additionally, the brands are focussing on affordability by announcing cashback, promotions and offers on devices," she added.

Jain said on the manufacturing front, the Indian government is focusing on increasing the local value addition.

"Mobile handset production is likely to increase in the coming time as schemes like Production Linked Incentive (PLI) start to impact the overall electronic manufacturing ecosystem. Indian brands like Micromax and Lava are expected to leverage the government's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative and plan their comeback," she said.

The overall mobile handset market (smartphone and feature phone) grew 8 per cent y-o-y in the third quarter due to stronger consumer demand in the smartphone segment and stronger sales of feature phones.

The feature phone market registered a 5 per cent y-o-y growth in the said quarter, with Itel at the top spot, followed by Samsung and Lava.

Samsung led the overall market as well with a 22 per cent share, followed by Xiaomi (14 per cent), Vivo (11 per cent), Realme (10 per cent) and Itel (8 per cent).

"The Indian smartphone market is on a recovery path as the lockdown restrictions have been relaxed. The market has shown consistent growth for the last few months. It saw strong demand during the Independence Day period in August as major online platforms hosted massive sales," Counterpoint Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh said.

September has always been a high sell-in month as brands prepare for the upcoming festive season and push stock in the channels, he added.