Online channels accounted for 43% of Indian smartphone market in Q2

Online channels accounted for 43 per cent share of the Indian smartphone sales in the June 2020 quarter as consumers preferred contact-less shopping experiences, research firm Counterpoint said on Thursday.

The increase in online channels share is due to a shift in consumer behaviour, who are now preferring contact-less shopping experience and practicing social distancing, Counterpoint said.

It added that Amazon reached its highest ever share of 47 per cent among online channels, while Flipkart had 42 per cent share in the quarter under review.

The report said the Rs 15,000-20,000 price band contributed the most and reached its highest ever share on Amazon. However, Flipkart led the sub-Rs 10,000 price band with more than 50 per cent share in the online smartphone market.

"Looking forward, we see online channels remaining strong this year and taking a 45 per cent share in the Indian smartphone market in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the current market scenario and innovative business models have emerged," it said. '

Counterpoint Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh said the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the overall smartphone market with April being a washout month.

"Online channels' shipments also declined compared to the last year. However, due to the current circumstances, consumers are preferring online platforms. We have already witnessed pre-COVID level shipments at the end of the second quarter 2020 due to the pent-up demand created in the market by the nationwide lockdown," he added.

Singh said brands are aligning their product as well as channel strategies to drive up volumes, and multiple financing options and attractive offers have made the devices more affordable for consumers.

"During the quarter, multiple brands adopted an online-to-offline (O2O) business model and hyperlocal delivery to help their offline channel partners," he said.

Counterpoint said Xiaomi remained the market leader in online channels with 44 per cent market share.

Samsung was quite aggressive on online channels and increased its share to 25 per cent, its highest ever share in online channels, it added.

OnePlus drove the shipments in the online premium smartphone segment, capturing more than 50 per cent share, followed by Apple with a 25 per cent share, the report said.