India's smartphone shipments grew 3% year-on-year in the September quarter, reaching 48.4 million units, according to data from Omdia (formerly Canalys). The growth was driven by high demand during the festive season and sustained incentive-led channel push, the research firm said.
However, despite overall consumer sentiments lifting on the back of GST cuts on large appliances, smartphone-specific recovery remains limited, analysts noted.
"Urban consumers continued to delay upgrades due to employment uncertainties and rising cost sensitivity, despite better product availability and financing schemes. As a result, sell-out traction lags behind shipment growth, raising concerns of inventory build-up in Q4," Omdia said in a report Tuesday.
Apple shipped its highest-ever shipments in India in the September quarter at 4.9 million, securing a 10% market share. The brand broke into the top five rankings for Q3 for the first time in India, driven by strong demand in smaller cities and upgrades from older models.
Counterpoint Research, in its early estimates, also expects a modest shipment recovery for the overall market driven by an early onset of the festive season and brands filling channels with higher volumes, expecting strong sales during the festive period. The research frm said it expects a single-digit on-year growth in shipments, but an even higher jump in wholesale revenues as more people purchased higher-end handsets.
Counterpoint, to be sure, said Apple's shipments ranged between 4.2-4.5 million units in the third quarter, missing the top five by a small margin.
According to Omdia, Apple was the fastest growing among the top five with 47% on-year shipment growth in Q3, with smaller cities driving volumes for Apple through aspirational demand, aggressive festive offers, and wider availability.
"While older iPhone 16 and 15 models drove major shipments under discount-led upgrades, the iPhone 17 base model gained traction supported by strong iPhone 12-15 install base upgrades," Chaurasia said.
"With limited organic demand, Q3's momentum was largely sustained through incentive-led channel push rather than pure consumer recovery," said Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Omdia.
Smartphone brands reallocated marketing budgets to high-impact retail incentive programs that rewarded retailers with cash-per-unit bonuses, tiered margins, and dealer contests with rewards such as gold coins, bikes, and international trips, Chaurasia said.
Retailers also increased their consumer-facing schemes from zero-downpayment, micro-instalment plans, bundled accessories and extended warranties, which fueled sales.
Overall, Vivo led the market with a balanced portfolio, aggressive retail programs, and a standout promoter network, Omdia said, which gave strong competition to second-placed Samsung which saw good traction for its mid-premium products, but faced pressure in the entry tiers.
However, despite overall consumer sentiments lifting on the back of GST cuts on large appliances, smartphone-specific recovery remains limited, analysts noted.
"Urban consumers continued to delay upgrades due to employment uncertainties and rising cost sensitivity, despite better product availability and financing schemes. As a result, sell-out traction lags behind shipment growth, raising concerns of inventory build-up in Q4," Omdia said in a report Tuesday.
Apple shipped its highest-ever shipments in India in the September quarter at 4.9 million, securing a 10% market share. The brand broke into the top five rankings for Q3 for the first time in India, driven by strong demand in smaller cities and upgrades from older models.
Counterpoint Research, in its early estimates, also expects a modest shipment recovery for the overall market driven by an early onset of the festive season and brands filling channels with higher volumes, expecting strong sales during the festive period. The research frm said it expects a single-digit on-year growth in shipments, but an even higher jump in wholesale revenues as more people purchased higher-end handsets.
Counterpoint, to be sure, said Apple's shipments ranged between 4.2-4.5 million units in the third quarter, missing the top five by a small margin.
According to Omdia, Apple was the fastest growing among the top five with 47% on-year shipment growth in Q3, with smaller cities driving volumes for Apple through aspirational demand, aggressive festive offers, and wider availability.
"While older iPhone 16 and 15 models drove major shipments under discount-led upgrades, the iPhone 17 base model gained traction supported by strong iPhone 12-15 install base upgrades," Chaurasia said.
"With limited organic demand, Q3's momentum was largely sustained through incentive-led channel push rather than pure consumer recovery," said Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Omdia.
Smartphone brands reallocated marketing budgets to high-impact retail incentive programs that rewarded retailers with cash-per-unit bonuses, tiered margins, and dealer contests with rewards such as gold coins, bikes, and international trips, Chaurasia said.
Retailers also increased their consumer-facing schemes from zero-downpayment, micro-instalment plans, bundled accessories and extended warranties, which fueled sales.
Overall, Vivo led the market with a balanced portfolio, aggressive retail programs, and a standout promoter network, Omdia said, which gave strong competition to second-placed Samsung which saw good traction for its mid-premium products, but faced pressure in the entry tiers.
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