India smartphone business growing at over 100%, says Amazon

As yet, 140 handset models have been launched on its platform exclusively

Global e-commerce major Amazon expects further acceleration in its smartphones business in India that has been witnessing over 100 per cent growth.

Amazon, which is locked in an intense battle for market leadership with Flipkart in India, has so far seen 140 handset models being launched on its platform exclusively.

"We have seen 100 per cent growth in our smartphone business. This is driven by strong uptake of premium products and demand from tier II and III cities," Amazon India Category Leader (Consumer Electronics) Arun Srinivasan told PTI.

He added that in the coming two weeks, four handset brands are launching their handsets exclusively on Amazon's platform.

Srinivasan said while the overall smartphone category has grown 100 per cent, sale of premium devices in tier I has jumped 310 per cent, 460 per cent in tier II and 600 per cent in tier III cities.

According to industry watchers, there were many brands that made their foray into India and launched their offerings exclusively through Flipkart. These include the likes of Motorola and Xiaomi.

However, Amazon has emerged as a strong competitor and many brands now also looking at Amazon to introduce their devices.

"We have brands across clusters. There are the likes of OnePlus that continue to remain with us. There are players like Samsung that have a strong offline presence and have strengthened their online play selling through our platform," he said.

Srinivasan said Amazon is already gearing up for the festive season and ensuring the logistics operations run smoothly.

It is also putting in place finance options and buyback offers to reach out to a larger base of customers.

"We believe there is a healthy opportunity for us to accelerate and there are no headwinds as of now. Overall, smartphones are among the top three selling categories and we are bullish on it for the long-term," he added.