India's offline market for smartphones grew 44% in H1 2022: Report

India's offline retail market for smartphones grew 44 per cent in value in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, said a report released on Monday.

Offline sale of smartphones priced above Rs 20,000 has increased more than two-fold in five years, said 'Consumer Life Study 2022' by market research firm Gfk. As many as 64 per cent of the young in urban India have upgraded their gadgets to the latest models this year. The festive season is expected to drive this trend between October and December.

“The offline channel growth of smartphones reached 2019 sales levels in 2021. In 2022, it is projected to grow by 25-30% over 2021 by value in offline channels; thus the year ahead looks optimistic complemented by festive season sales. All of this is possible due to, we Indians, coming to Normalcy 38% faster than the rest of the world,” said Dheeraj Mukherjee, head of sales--Gfk India.

Consumers in smaller cities were seen shifting to mid-range category smartphones post the pandemic. "Rs 20,000+ price segment shows growth across all tier cities- with Tier 4 cities witnessing maximum growth in the price segment in H12022 vis-à-vis H12019 at a staggering 240 per cent growth followed by Tier 3 cities with 186 per cent growth, Tier 2 at 162 per cent growth, and 86 per cent growth in Tier 1 cities. Tiers 5 and above cities witnessed over 120 per cent growth. The contribution in the same time period was led by Tier 1 cities at 59 per cent," the report said.

According to the report, the contribution of Rs 20,000+ price band category has evolved from nearly 17 per cent in 2017 to 40 per cent in H1 2022 in the offline market.

The average selling price (ASP) of smartphones rose around 34 per cent between 2017 and 2021. As many as 62 per cent of Indian consumers want technology that knows them and can make recommendations.