Smartphone shipments in India fell 10 percent to a three-year low of 43 million units shipped during July-September 2022, market research firm International Data Corporation reported on Monday.
The share of 5G smartphones reached 36 percent of the total smartphones during the reported quarter with 16 million units shipped at a slightly higher average selling price of $393 (nearly Rs. 31,900) per unit compared to $377 (nearly Rs. 30,600) in the previous quarter.
“The Indian smartphone market declined 10 percent year-on-year (YoY) to ship 43 million units in July-September 2022. This was the lowest shipment in the third quarter since 2019, despite an earlier start to Diwali festivities. Slowing demand and rising device prices negatively impacted festive purchases,” International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report said.
Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President of IDC Device Research, said inventory buildup and cyclical demand deceleration after the holidays will lead to a subdued December 2022 quarter and that 2022 annual shipments are likely to decline 8-9 percent to around 150 million units.
“The major challenges for 2023 are the impact of inflation on consumer demand, rising costs of devices and slow migration from feature phones to smartphones. However, the migration of 4G smartphone users to 5G smartphones should provide a growth boost to the market in 2023, especially in the mid-premium and high-end segments,” Singh said.
According to the report, online channels dominated in the September 2022 quarter, with a record 58 percent share. However, year-on-year growth was flat, with 25 million units shipped.
“Multiple rounds of eTailer sales (The Big Billion Days on Flipkart and Amazon Great India Festival) were supported by preferential platform pricing, exclusive online deals and offers and discounts. Amid all the action in online channels, offline shipments declined 20 percent year-on-year as they struggled to generate demand while competing with aggressive online plays,” the report said.
MediaTek-based smartphones rose to 47 percent of the total market, while Qualcomm’s market share fell to 25 percent, followed by UNISOC with 15 percent.
Xiaomi was the market leader in smartphones in the quarter with a 21.2 percent share, while Apple led the premium category with a 63 percent share in the segment.
Xiaomi maintained its lead, but with a decline of 18 percent YoY in the September 2022 quarter. Over 70 percent of shipments went to online channels, resulting in a 27 percent share of the online channel (including sub-brand Poco),’ the report said.
Samsung reclaimed the second spot with 18.5 percent share. It was followed by Vivo with 14.6 percent share, Realme 14.2 percent and Oppo 12.5 percent market share.
“The sub-$300 segment (nearly Rs. 24,350) underperformed as shipments declined 15 percent YoY. The premium segment above $500 (nearly Rs. 40,600) remained the highest growing price band with 64 percent growth YoY and 8 percent share. Apple led with 63 percent share of that space, followed by Samsung at 22 percent and OnePlus at 9 percent,” the report said.
