Every second smartphone in India is sold through online platforms: Report

Thanks to new launches and aggressive sell-in ahead of annual online sales like Flipkart's Big Billion and Amazon's Great India festive season sale, every second phone in the country is now sold through online channels, said a new report on Thursday.

With 55 per cent year-on-year growth, smartphone shipments in the online channel reached their highest ever share of 46 per cent during the third quarter of this year, according to the latest research from Counterpoint's Market Monitor service.

Flipkart led the overall online market with a 57 per cent share, while Amazon grew over 75 per cent year-over-year to capture 33 per cent share within overall online channels.

Within smartphone brands, Xiaomi retained the top spot in the online channels, with 38 per cent share, driven by the strong performance of its Redmi 7A, Note 7 Pro and Note 7S models.

Realme online shipments hit a record high with more than 4.5 times year-over-year growth as it focused aggressively in sub-Rs 15,000 segment with some industry-first device features like 64MP camera, said the report.

Samsung gained share in the online segment driven by success of its M30s model on Amazon, due to its long battery life (6000mAH) in the budget segment.

Vivo became the number four player in the online segment for the first time ever, driven by its increased focus towards the online channel with its recently launched models, U10, Z1X, and Z1 Pro.

Interestingly, online shipments in the premium segment reached a record high with 79 per cent year-over-year growth. OnePlus remained strong on Amazon and this has helped the brand to remain number 1 player in the online premium segment.