70% smartphone users in India switched brands in Q2; Xiaomi biggest gainer

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi sold nearly 37 per cent of the phones that were replaced, according a CyberMedia Research (CMR) report

More than 70 per cent of smartphone users in India switched brands in the second quarter of this year, befitting Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi the most which sold nearly 37 per cent of the phones that were replaced, according a CyberMedia Research (CMR) report on Wednesday.

Xiaomi was followed by Vivo (17.8 per cent), Oppo (16.3), itel (6.7 per cent) and Huawei's Honor (4.5 per cent), according to the first edition of the CMR "India Smartphone Movement" report.

During the period, the fastest depleting brands in the category were Micromax (41.2 per cent), Intex (11.6 per cent), HTC (5.5 per cent), Karbonn (5.3 per cent) and Gionee (4.7 per cent), the findings showed.

"Customer stickiness is the paramount concern thathomegrownn brands need to address immediately," said Kanika Jain, Manager, New Initiatives, CMR.

"Consumers continue to swap their existing Smartphones with the new ones offered by Chinese brands resulting in fast erosion of total installed base of the local Indian brands," she added.

Based on the analysis of over 200 million users across the country, the report further identified that the replacement market continues to grow in the country and in the second quarter of 2018, nearly 60 per cent of the smartphones sold were actually upgrades/replacements of existing smartphones.

There is still 41 per cent of new smartphone market development occurring in the country, which could be a pie that the domestic brands should focus upon, the report suggested.