The Indian smartphone market shipped 64 million units in the first half of 2023, a decline of 10% on-year, despite the second quarter sequentially outperforming with 34 million shipments, on account of an increased focus in clearing inventory by offering discounts, special schemes and price drops before the start of the festive season, according to a new report from IDC India.
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The research firm also noted a decline in average selling prices after several consecutive quarters of growth, with ASPs declining 8% sequentially to $241 in Q2. However, average prices were still 13% higher than a year ago.
“Consumers are opting for premium offerings, driven by easy and affordable financing options. IDC expects this growth momentum to continue in the upcoming months in 2023,” said Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.
Declining ASPs however could not stop the ongoing slide in the share of the budget under-$200 segment which dipped 11% on-year to contribute 65% of shipments from 70% a year ago.
The premium segment was the fastest growing with 75% on-year growth in Q2 to capture 6% of the market, even as the mid-range segment remained flat with 22% share and the high-end segment growing 34% on-year to capture 5% of the market.
The premium and high-end segment growth was fueled by 17 million 5G smartphone shipments where the average selling prices tell 3% sequentially to $366 in Q2, as per IDC, with Samsung, Vivo, and OnePlus cornering 54% of 5G shipments among themselves.
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However, the iPhone 13 along with the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite were the highest selling 5G smartphones in the second quarter.
Poco was the fastest growing smartphone brand in the second quarter with 76.5% on-year growth driven by its affordable C-series smartphones, while OnePlus grew 61% with ASP declining 14% on-year to $346. Apple also registered strong growth even with the highest ASP of $929, registering a massive 61% on-year growth.
IDC India identified Vivo as the top smartphone brand in Q2, overtaking Samsung with 16% market share. Samsung’s share declined 6.2% on-year to 15.7%, despite focusing on its higher-end portfolio.
Erstwhile market leader Xiaomi dropped to the fifth spot, with shipments falling 39.4% on-year. It ended up with 11% market share, same as Oppo, while Realme climbed to the third spot despite a sharp 29.8% decline to capture 12.6% market share.
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Forecasting for the second half, IDC India associate vice president, Navkendar Singh said, “In the upcoming festive season, the brands will try to spur consumer demand with affordable 5G launches, pre-booking offers and loyalty/upgrade programs clubbed with festive discounts. The market requires strong double-digit growth in the next few months to see annual growth in 2023, which looks unlikely as of now.”
