Smartphone shipments to India up 15% in March quarter

The mid-end segment witnessed the highest growth of 158% year-on-year

Smartphone shipments in India grew 15 per cent to 29 million units in March quarter compared to the year-ago period, with top five brands capturing almost 70 per cent of the total segment, research firm Counterpoint Research said.

India is one of the world's largest and among the fastest-growing smartphone markets. With sales slowing down in mature markets like the US and Europe, handset makers are expanding their presence in the Indian market, bringing in the best devices from their portfolio.

During the said quarter, Samsung continued to lead the market with 26 per cent share, followed by Chinese players Xiaomi (13 per cent), Vivo (12 per cent), Oppo (10 per cent) and Lenovo (8 per cent).

Overall, the mobile handset market grew six per cent in January-March quarter, with smartphones and feature phones contributing equal shares.

Samsung led the tally here too with 26 per cent share, followed by Itel (nine per cent), Micromax (eight per cent), Xiaomi (seven per cent) and Vivo (six per cent).

"India’s smartphone market is witnessing a focus shift in distribution strategy by major brands. Offline brands like Oppo, Vivo and Gionee have now started focusing on online channels as well to gain extra market share," Countrepoint analyst Karn Chauhan said.

He added that online-only brands like Xiaomi and Motorola are moving fast into offline markets to widen their reach to the mass market, addressing consumers in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

The mid-end segment (Rs 15,000-20,000) witnessed the highest growth of 158 per cent year-on-year during the said quarter. Most of the growth in the category was driven by Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Gionee, and Motorola.

The premium segment (over Rs 30,000) grew at 35 per cent year-on-year with Samsung accounting for 48 per cent market share, followed closely by Apple at 43 per cent. OnePlus, Oppo and Google made it to the top five in this segment, but each with marginal shares.

Shobhit Srivastava, analyst at Counterpoint, said the average selling price (ASP) of smartphones in India increased by Rs 2,000 during the March quarter compared to the year-ago period.

"The reason for the increase in ASP is the growing number of users that are upgrading to high-end specifications offered by brands in the Rs 8,000-20,000 segment," he added.