India smartphone shipment grew 14% YoY in Q3; Samsung no. 1 player: CMR

After a rebound led by Korea's Samsung, which dethroned Chinese Xiaomi to emerge as the top smartphone and mobile brand, CMR said, India's smartphone shipments hit the highest ever level of 14% year-on-year in Q3 2020.

The rise in shipments was driven in the run-up to the much-anticipated festive season sales by enticing pre-festive season releases, marketing, promotions and discounts, the report noted.

Samsung experienced an 18% increase in its smartphone shipments year on year, while its budget smartphone segment saw a 38% increase in shipments year on year, led by the Galaxy M01 Core and M31.

Almost 60% of its total shipments were contributed by Samsung Galaxy M01, A21S, and M30s models.

Xiaomi lost its lead and fell to second place due to Covid-19 constraints and supply chain disturbances, with its shipments falling by 5% year-on-year.

Newly released versions, such as the Prime Redmi 9i, 9A, 9. Almost half of its total shipments were contributed by Redmi 8A Dual, Redmi 8, and Redmi Note 9.

In third place, Vivo also saw shipments rise by 7% year-on-year, led by the V and Y-series. The quarter-on - quarter proportion, however, fell flat at 16%. More than 50% of its total shipments contributed to the Vivo Y91i, Y30 along with the newly launched Vivo Y20 series.

Realme shipments increased by 13% year-on-year, powered mainly by the Realme C sequence, including the Realme C11, Realme C6, Realme 5i, and Realme C3, along with the newly released Realme 7, which accounted for 50% of its revenue.

Year on year, Oppo grew 31%. It reported year-on-year growth of 135% in the premium market on the back of the Reno collection.

As per Mr. Amit Sharma, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR," In Q3 2020, the smartphone market offset the ongoing pandemic-related challenges in H1 2020 and expanded well. We estimate that smartphone demand would outpace other product categories in the festive climate, given cautious discretionary spending being low.”

Ms. Shipra Sinha, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, added," In Q3 2020, eCommerce platforms expanded their scope across India by linking up with local stores. We expect online to drive > 70% of overall sales this festive season.”

With the launch of OnePlus Nord, the 5 G smartphone market expanded dramatically, by almost 500% quarter-on-quarter.

OnePlus increased year on year at 104%. In addition, 16% of its Q3 shipments were accounted for by OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. Three-fourths of all 5 G shipments in Q3 2020 were contributed by OnePlus.

To capture the seventh spot in the industry, Apple shipments increased by 67% year-on-year, led by the demand for iPhone SE and iPhone 11 that contributed to 91% of its shipments in Q3 2020.

CMR expects that the smartphone market will increase at 15% year-on-year in H2, with a 14% YoY rise in Q4 2020.

"We expect offline sales will pick up momentum in the coming quarters as the economy opens further. That said, smartphone sales volumes would continue to be powered online. If a smartphone brand can deliver a good value proposition and brand confidence, it will potentially be placed for growth," added Mr. Sharma.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.