Festive cheer for smartphone shipments in India with a 6-8% rise this year

5G connectivity and replacement demands were the main factors behind majority of the sales; market share of general trade increased by 35-40%, compared to about 32% last year

The shipment of smartphones in India has increased by 6-8 per cent during this festive season this year compared to the previous year.

Industry experts said that 5G connectivity and replacement demands were the main factors behind the majority of the sales, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET). The market share of general trade increased by 35-40 per cent, compared to about 32 per cent last year.

Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, a technology market research firm, said, "Diwali was better than what it was last year. We are predicting a 8 per cent increase in volume and 25 per cent growth in value during the 30-day festive season beginning from the first online sale."

According to the ET report, Cybermedia Research (CMR), a marketing research and consulting agency, predicted a 6-8 per cent on-year volume growth with an upgrade to 5G models contributing three-fourths of smartphone sales during this period.

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Shipra Sinha, analyst, industry intelligence group, CMR, said, "During the festive season, the affordability initiatives and EMI offers significantly influenced consumer preferences, steering them towards premium smartphones."

E-commerce major Amazon India said that it sold 2.5 times more smartphones in the premium segment as compared to last year. The company said, "Amongst all smartphones sold, 60 per cent were 5G ready and 70 per cent of all smartphone orders came from tier-2 and below towns."

Kailash Lakhyani, chairman of the All India Mobile Retailers Association, said that loan approvals from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) rose from 70 per cent to 90 per cent due to smartphone brands allowing them to install apps to monitor instalment payments.

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IDC India said that there will be high levels of inventory and a cyclical dip in the fourth quarter. Upasana Joshi, research manager at IDC India, said, "October saw a spike in shipments, but November and December are going to be slow. With this, we should end a flat or a slight decline in the overall market."