According to the Counterpoint Research report for Q4 2025, Vivo had the highest market share amongst phone makers in thed Indian smartphone shipments category. Vivo had a market share of 24%, wherein OPPO had the second rank with a market share of 15%. Samsung had a market share of 13%. Apple and Xiaomi had a market share of 12% each. Let’s talk about why Vivo is doing the best in India, and that too by a huge margin.
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Vivo did something super cool here. What’s genius about it is that it was there for any brand to do, but it was always about who was the first mover, and who executed it the best. Note that this is not paid by Vivo, this was just me thinking why is Vivo doing the best in India despite none of my family members or friends owning any device from the company. How is the company selling, and more importantly, who is the company selling to?
When it comes to consumer brands, especially tech, supply chain becomes a critical component in determining a brand’s success. Vivo nailed this. It took time, but it eventually happened. The company has very intelligently built a strong supply chain both in the online and offline verticals. When you look at the offline market, Vivo sells its Y series aggressively. What’s more is that Vivo likely has the most promoters (people working as sellers with incentives and small fixed salaries) in almost every major phone retail store of the country.
When I visited a local phone retail store in my city, and I was just checking out the Vivo X200 FE 5G, a guy approached me (staff) and started talking about the product. I was impressed with his in-depth knowledge about the features, and I was a little surprised to think that a local guy, who sells hundreds of phones a week, is so aware about the small details of a Vivo phone.
Then he told me that he was representing Vivo. I checked out three more stores in different parts of the city just to confirm, and I was right, Vivo had promoters in almost every decent store where people purchase phones from. This makes a huge difference. If I was someone who didn’t have a preference and walked into a store with a budget in mind, there is a high chance that this Vivo promoter would influence me to get a Vivo phone.
The T series is doing pretty well online. Then there’s the V series, which is now upgraded with the arrival of V70 series. Then there’s the X series, and now, the X series has so many options from X200FE, X200T, X200, X300, X300 Pro, and more. So there’s basically something for everyone in every price range.
This could be implemented by other brands too, and maybe, other brands are also trying, but Vivo has executed it way better.
Marketing Strategy from Vivo in India
When it comes to marketing, now Vivo is going after the camera enthusiasts with its X series. The partnership with ZEISS is nothing but a huge marketing move, which is a value add-on. Would Vivo not do well in cameras without ZEISS? It definitely will, but the name, and the term co-engineered helps in winning consumer trust, especially when someone is paying a lot of money for their phone.
If you look at iQOO, which is a performance brand, it has not done as well compared to Vivo. iQOO, even though has great products, is online first. What I have observed is that most people still choose to buy expensive phones offline, as there’s more trust and transparency. There’s also the fact that if anything goes bad, you always have the collar of the store owner. But that is not possible with purchasing devices online.
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