India smartphone mkt grows 7 pc to 32 mn units in March qtr : IDC

Smartphone shipment in India grew 7.1 per cent to 32.1 million units in the March 2019 quarter, even as the global market saw shipment volume decline 6 per cent year-on-year during the period, according to an IDC India report.

However, high channel inventory from the previous quarter resulted in fall in shipment volume by 8.4 per cent on sequential basis.

Xiaomi led the tally with 30.6 per cent share in the March 2019 quarter, followed by Samsung (22.3 per cent), Vivo (13 per cent), Oppo (7.6 per cent) and Realme (6 per cent).

The feature phone segment, which still accounts for half of the total mobile phone shipments, registered shipment of 32.3 million units in the first quarter of 2019 falling sharply by 42.4 per cent year-on-year.

"There was a sharp drop in 4G-enabled feature phones, declining by more than 50 per cent year-on-year due to channel inventory from previous quarters. There was also a sequential dip in 2G or 2.5G feature phones," IDC said.

Interestingly, the average selling prices grew 3.3 per cent year-on-year to USD 161 (about Rs 11,326).

"This can be attributed to the growth in the USD 300-500 segment, accounting for 6 per cent of the overall smartphone market in Q1 2019. This segment also outgrew all other price bands..." IDC said.

The premium segment (USD 500/Rs 35,000 and above) saw Samsung surpassing Apple for the leadership position with an overall share of 36 per cent in March 2019 quarter, it added.

"In 2019, we should expect further aggressive offline expansion by the online-heavy vendors in an attempt to get a wider footprint in smaller cities and towns. Having said that, the influence of the online channels and their focus on the smartphone business will continue," IDC India Research Director (Client Devices and IPDS) Navkendar Singh said.

He added that this will gain momentum in the all-important second half of the year since the affordability driving factors like EMIs or cashback offers continue to be top-of-mind attributes for consumers.

Online sales accounted for 40.2 per cent of the market share in March 2019 quarter.