India smartphone shipments in March quarter lowest in four years

Market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC) reported on Thursday that India saw 31 million smartphones shipped during this period, a 16% decline from the 37 million units shipped in the same quarter last year. The slump follows a year of consolidation in the smartphone industry as demand has fallen from pandemic-driven highs. Shipments fell 10% annually to 144 million units for calendar year 2022, according to IDC.

Multiple factors are responsible for the ongoing lull in the smartphone market, including inflationary concerns and larger-than-usual inventories resulting from a lacklustre festive season last year. In October, Mint reported that unsold smartphone inventories among Indian retailers had risen to over 10 weeks, up from the typical four weeks seen prior to the drop in demand. Apart from Apple, most brands experienced a decline or flat final quarter during last year’s festive season.

IDC data also revealed that the average selling price (ASP) of smartphones in the March quarter rose to $265 (approximately ₹21,700), from below ₹17,000 in November 2021. Mint had reported prices were expected to rise thereon and continue to do so until at least till the second half of 2023. The premium segment of the market, with smartphones priced above ₹50,000 (or $600), accounted for 11% of all shipments in the March quarter, up from just 4% in the year-ago period.

While ASPs are projected to stabilize in the second half of the year, shipments may experience growth. Navkendar Singh, IDC’s associate vice-president of devices research, said that the latter half of the year could “bring some growth if brands bring attractive festive offerings across the channels to drive affordability…This can be facilitated by consumer optimism on the back of the cricket World Cup hosted by India, a few key state elections, followed by Union elections in 2024.”

Upasana Joshi, research manager of client devices at IDC India, added that affordable 5G devices could further contribute to growth factors in the second half of this year.

“5G smartphones continue to increase penetration in the low-end price segment, and we should expect a strong 5G play in the $150-300 price segment (around ₹12,000 to ₹25,000) in the second half of the year — as high-end 4G models vacate the space,” Joshi said. In the March quarter, 5G smartphones accounted for 45% of all devices shipped to India, up from 31%, or 14 percentage points, last year.

In terms of market distribution, Chinese brands Xiaomi and Realme experienced the steepest declines, with shipment volumes falling 41% and 52% respectively. Samsung retained the top spot with a 20.1% market share, having shipped 6.2 million devices during the quarter. Vivo and Oppo ranked second and third with 5.4 million devices shipped respectively, but Oppo was the only top-five brand to register year-on-year growth. Xiaomi, which held the top position for five straight years until the December quarter of 2022, dropped to the fourth spot in the March quarter.