Smartphones sales are increasing with every passing year, and this year, the smartphone shipments in India might touch 262 million, according to a recent report. As per International Data Corporation's (IDC) latest India Monthly City-Level Smartphone Tracker, major 50 cities in India accounted for 50% smartphone sales in Q3 2017. This is a sizeable growth of 27% from the previous quarter.
The report cites that Tier-I cities of India continue to be the key volume driver for the India smartphone market with 29% sequential growth in Q3 2017. Bhopal, Gurgaon, and Jaipur from the Tier-II cities have emerged as the fastest growing cities with each growing more than 40% from the previous quarter.
It is also said that metro cities of India remain the major contributors to the smartphone sales in India, with Delhi and Mumbai contributing one-fourth of the total sales in top 50 cities.
However, with the availability of inexpensive and large amounts of data and 4G penetration, the demand from Tier I and Tier II cities continue to attract all the smartphone vendors. Vendors are notably diversifying their sales and marketing strategies. Also, the e-tailers are expanding their presence in most of the cities to cater to the demand coming from these markets said IDC in the report.
Chinese brand Xiaomi has seen an impeccable growth in 2017, and this report from IDC says that Xiaomi has outperformed Samsung and other major brands in the top 50 cities of India. Xiaomi moved to the leadership position in major 50 cities of India, registering 120% growth in the Q3 2017.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 alone contributed to more than 40% of the volumes and is also the highest selling model within the 50 cities of India. Xiaomi's offline expansion through 'Mi Preferred Partner' programme and Mi Stores further added to the growth.
With Xiaomi's resurgence to the top, South Korean smartphone giant, Samsung slipped to the second position with 15% quarterly growth in Q3 2017. However, Samsung continues to dominate in the majority of cities, thanks to its deep penetration and reach. The Samsung Galaxy J2, J7 Max, J7 Prime & J7 Nxt together make up to 50% volumes for the vendor.
Lenovo (including Motorola) remains at the third position growing steadily at 8% from the previous quarter. New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru contributing around 40% of its volumes with majority sales of Lenovo K6 Power, Moto E4 Plus & K6 Note.
Chinese brands Oppo and Vivo settled in fourth and fifth positions. Oppo moved to the fourth position as its models Oppo F3 and F3 Plus gained attraction from the consumers. Furthermore, the newly launched Oppo A71 added to the company' sales. Lastly, Vivo slipped down to the fifth position as the company' sales declined in the last quarter. However, the sales of the company might increase with the recently launched Vivo V7 and V7+.
