 "The Apple iPhone7 and AirPods are displayed during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California")
Every time Apple announces a new iPhone, millions of fans across the globe cheer in anticipation of a technologically superior device. While the craze over iPhones has been on the rise in India for the past three years, recent developments raise doubts about the flagship devices' demand in the country.
Latest sales figures from market research firm GFK show that Apple's share by value stands at 6.3 per cent — lower than the Chinese brand OPPO. While in the month of August, OPPO held some eight per cent share, Samsung held on to its leadership position with 47 per cent market share. In fact, Apple's share is slightly above Lyf's — the new entrant in the space. GFK tracks sales data in Indian towns which have more than 50,000 people residing in them.
Drop in market share is also evident if one looks at the volume sales data for the past months. Sales data from International Data Corp show that iPhones have lost significant market share in major Indian cities during April-June 2016. It's share has almost halved to 2.5 per cent in top 30 Indian cities – markets where iPhone sales mostly take place – from 4.6 per cent in the October-December quarter.
The iPhone's market performance in the above Rs 20,000 price segment has also worsened during the quarter. It fell to 35.6 per cent from 52.3 per cent in January-March 2016, despite the launch of the iPhone SE in April.
Experts say that while the falling share of iPhones during the first half of the year is a trend that has been observed for the past two years, it is usually Samsung which dominates the period with its flagship launches in the segment and market shares above 55 to 60 per cent, at times.
But this time the scenario was different.
In 2016, to counter Samsung's premium Galaxy S7 launch, Apple introduced iPhone SE — a smaller, more easy to use with one hand version with all the features of the iPhone 6S. But it failed to make a mark in the Indian market, mostly due to its higher price (at Rs 40,000) contrary to the anticipation that it would be a low-cost offering from the US tech giant.
Following the trend of rising sales of Chinese players like OPPO, data from GFK suggest that the brand has emerged as the second most sold label during August. Another research firm, Counterpoint Technology Research, however, says that OPPO is the third most sold brand in terms of value, with seven per cent share of the market in its kitty. Apple remains at the sixth spot with 5.6 per cent share.
While differences in market share might prevail, the fact that sales of iPhones have fallen significantly and Chinese players such as Vivo and OPPO have gained is clearly visible. Experts point out that value for money proposition among Indian buyers have prevailed over craze for owning an iPhone of late. Also, cuts in discretionary spending among a majority of consumers, which impacted all major consumer goods firms in the country, including food and beverage companies, have also played a role in this.
The future, however, might not be that bleak. As the festive season sets in and the iPhone 7's launch nears (slated to be on October 7), sale of Apple's smartphone might rise. Every time a new iPhone comes into the market, sales of its older versions increase due to lowering of their prices, experts said.
