The International Data Corporation (IDC) released its Monthly Smartphone Tracker for October 2020, in which it highlighted the monthly shipments in India registered a massive 42% growth YoY. Smartphone brands in India shipped 21 million units largely driven by multiple online sales and continued demand from September in which the brands shipped the most number of units in a single month at 23 million. Xiaomi shipped a whopping 5.5 million smartphones in October, followed by Samsung with 4.5 million and Vivo with 3.9 million. Xiaomi has discounted various Redmi smartphones during the festive season to boost the sales and the strategy paid off for the brand. Realme shipped 3 million units during the same period.
Smartphone Brands Shipping a Whopping 21 Million Units in October
IDC gave a deep insight into the market trends during the month. The Market Operating Price stood at $190 (approx. Rs 13,950) in October with 68% of the market in the sub-$200 (approx. Rs 14,700) range. Online channels registered growth in the $100-200 price segment clocking in 93% growth YoY, collectively accounting for almost half of the sales in October. Further, Xiaomi was the leading brand in 30 of the top 50 cities within the sub-$200 segment.
The midrange segment (US$200-300) accounted for almost a fourth of devices sold in October. Samsung led in 36 of the top 50 cities of India. The premium segment ($500+) registered 16% YoY growth in October, with Apple leading the market in 49 of the top 50 cities. Further, IDC said this segment accounted for 5% market share in the leading 50 cities of India, compared to less than 1% in the rest of cities.
Overall, smartphone brands shipped 21 million units in the month, and the online channel aggression continued, growing 53% YoY especially in smaller towns & cities. The lower mid-range segment ($100-200) grew by 60% YoY as its share in the market increased to 58%. Xiaomi, Vivo and Samsung. The Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and Vivo Y20 were the top models in this price range, says IDC.
In the premium segment, the iPhone XR, iPhone 11 and the OnePlus 8 registered high shipments driven by affordability schemes and offers. The top five vendors during the month are Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Realme and Oppo.
As for city-wise data, IDC's 'Monthly City-Level Smartphone Tracker' which tracks sell-out units for the leading 50 cities in India & the rest of the states cited a record 22 million smartphones were sold in October, largely due to the consumers purchasing smartphones during the pre-Diwali month.
The IDC India tracker also revealed that 25% of the market belong to top tier cities- New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. E-learning initiatives fueled demand in bigger cities, said IDC in its report. The next set of emerging markets, namely Jaipur, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Bhopal & Coimbatore, also grew by around 50% YoY. However, the rest of the states (up-country markets) registered slower growth (around 25%), primarily owing to looming economic concerns and consumer spending narrowing to essentials only.
Lastly, the report added that the leading 50 cities of India accounted for around 55% demand nationally. The remainder is in the next set of evolving towns and cities, with huge untapped potential in the up-country geographies (feature phone-heavy markets).
