Realme Takes Third Place in Q1 India Smartphone Shipments: Canalys
The smartphone market in India had a rough start to the year due to supply constraints, seeing a modest 2 percent increase in shipments for the January-March (Q1) period of 2022, according to a report by market research firm Canalys. Following earlier trends, Xiaomi enjoyed the lion’s share of smartphone shipments in India, while Samsung secured the second spot. Realme took the third spot, marking a robust 40 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in shipments. Other BBK subsidiaries Vivo and Oppo managed to secure the fourth and fifth positions respectively during the period. Canalys said that supply chain disruptions are holding back leading smartphone brands such as Xiaomi and Vivo from meeting demand for their low-end models.
The report Canalys said smartphone shipments in India reached 38 million units in the first quarter of 2022, representing a year-on-year growth of 2 percent. Last year, smartphone shipments in the first quarter reached 37.1 million units.
Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi was the largest contributor to smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2022 with 8 million shipments and a market share of 25 percent. The company’s annual shipments declined by 24 percent. Samsung shipped 6.9 million units and its market share in the said period is 6.9 percent. The South Korean brand’s year-on-year growth declined by 2 percent.
Realme shipped 6 million units, posting a 40 percent YoY growth with a market share of 16 percent. Vivo grabbed a 15 percent market share with 5.7 million units shipped, while Oppo grabbed a 12 percent market share with 4.6 million units shipped. However, Vivo and Oppo’s YoY growth rates are shrinking by 15 percent and 13 percent respectively in Q1 2022.
Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia notes that supply is the biggest challenge for leading names such as Xiaomi and Vivo, as these brands failed to secure components for their volume-driving low-end models. “Realme, Tecno and Itel performed remarkably well with solid supply to beat the market leaders and meet low-end demand in Q1,” Chaurasia said in a prepared statement.
Smartphone vendors will start improving their numbers in March 2022, the report said. Lower-tier cities in India are expected to be a key driver for them.
Keeping devices affordable will be the biggest challenge for smartphone companies amid rising oil prices in India and high wholesale inflation. “Volatility in exchange rates and higher operational costs due to inflation will, in turn, put further pressure on vendors to remain profitable. But as consumers increasingly rely on their smartphones, it has never been easier to entice them with payment schemes, with multiple buy-now-pay-later partners mushrooming in the ecosystem,” Chaurasia said.
