Note ban dent: Smartphone sales drop 31% in November, Chinese vendors gain

During the past two years, Chinese firms have gained at least 20 per cent share of the market

Sale of smartphones in top 50 cities in India plunged 31 per cent in November due to demonetisation. Sale of handsets in smaller towns, too, suffered heavily as consumers postponed purchases. While Tier-I towns saw smartphone sales declining 32 per cent month-on-month, in Tier-II and III cities, and smaller habitats, sales dipped 30 per cent, analyst firm International Data Corp said in a report on Tuesday.

“Demonetisation has impacted the smartphone market at almost all levels, including the customer demand and stock movement in the distribution channels. There was a huge drop in inquiries and significantly reduced footfall at the