According to a report, smartphone shipments in India fell for the third consecutive quarter, with a five percent year-on-year decline in the first quarter of 2022. While Xiaomi maintained its leading position in the market, all of the top five vendors except Realme declined. In their shipments in the quarter. The main reasons for the dip are the impact of the third wave of COVID-19, supply constraints, especially for the low-price segments, and rising inflation increasing the cost of ownership of phones in all price segments.
According to the latest market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) report, the number of smartphones in the country fell to 37 million units in the first quarter.
Xiaomi continued to lead the market, although its share and shipments fell in the quarter from the same quarter last year. According to IDC, the company’s shipments fell 18 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. However, Xiaomi continued to dominate the online channel, with a 32 percent share (including Poco).
In the 5G segment, IDC reports that Xiaomi came in second. The Mi 11i and Redmi Note 11T have been key volume drivers for the Chinese company.
After Xiaomi, Samsung remained in second place, with a five percent year-over-year decline in the first quarter. The South Korean giant increased the demand for its Galaxy S22 series. It also led the 5G segment, with a 29 percent share. The most important models in the segment were the Galaxy M32 5G and Galaxy A22 5G, according to IDC.
Realme – one of the youngest brands of Guangzhou-based BBK Electronics – became the third-largest supplier on the market. It represented a growth of 46 percent year-on-year. The company also had the lowest average selling price of $142 (about Rs. 11,000).
In addition, IDC said that Realme maintained its second position in the online space after Xiaomi, with a 23 percent share in the first quarter.
The report shows that, unlike all the other leading players in the market, Realme managed to achieve an annualized growth of 46.3 percent in the first quarter.
Vivo, the sibling of Realme and another brand of BBK Electronics, was in fourth place, down 17 percent year-over-year. The Chinese company led the offline channel with a market share of 24 percent in the first quarter, although it is also likely to see some growth in its online shipments with the launch of its new T-series and iQoo phones.
According to IDC’s report, Oppo — BBK Electronics’ largest subsidiary and once Realme’s parent company — fell 25 percent in the first quarter.
Smartphone shipments from the top five players in the market, according to IDC
Company 1Q22 Market Share 1Q21 Shipment Volumes 1Q21 Shipment Volumes 1Q21 Market Share Year Over Year Unit Change (1Q22 over 1Q21) Xiaomi 8.5 Million 23.3 Percent 10.4 Million 27.2 Percent -18.2 Percent Samsung 7.0 Million 19.0 percent 7.3 million 19.0 percent -4.7 percent Realme 6.0 million 16.4 percent 4.1 million 10.7 percent 46.3 percent Vivo 5.5 million 15.0 percent 6.6 million 17, 3 percent -17.0 percent Oppo 3.5 million 9.6 percent 4.6 million 12.2 percent -24.9 percent Other 6.1 million 16.7 percent 5.2 million 13.6 percent 16.8 percent Total 37 million 100 percent 38 million 100 percent -4.8 percent
Aside from the vendor-wise shipments, IDC cited other interesting insights in its report. It said the pandemic-driven surge in e-commerce stocks over the past two years has slowed, declining marginally to 49 percent in the first quarter. Nevertheless, online channel shipments continue to grow at a seven percent year-over-year rate, while offline channel shipments fell 13 percent year-over-year.
Average smartphone sales prices in the country continued to climb to as much as $211 (about Rs. 16,300) for the fourth consecutive quarter. While MediaTek-powered models had a 51 percent share at an average retail price of $174 (approximately Rs. 13,500), Qualcomm increased its share to 28 percent at an average retail price of $244 (roughly Rs. 18,900), according to IDC.
The company also reported that the mid-range premium smartphone segment – between $300 and $500 (approximately Rs. 23,200-38,700) – marked the highest year-over-year growth of 75 percent. In contrast, the premium segment year-over-year grew by 33 percent, with a five percent market share. The latter was dominated by Apple, which had 60 percent of total shipments in the segment. On the other hand, the sub-$200 (about Rs. 15,500) fell 16 percent, while the mid-range $200-$300 grew from 14 percent in the first quarter to 18 percent.
Upasana Joshi, Researcher Manager for Client Devices at IDC India, said 5G accounted for 31 percent of shipments with an average retail price of $375 (about Rs. 29,000) in the last quarter.
“IDC estimates that shipments over $300 will be fully 5G by the end of 2022,” the researcher said.
Turning to future performance, Navkendar Singh, research director for Client Devices and Imaging, Printing, and Document Solutions (IPDS) at IDC India, said the outlook for 2022 remains cautious on the consumer demand side.
“Due to rising inflation and extending the smartphone refresh cycle, IDC expects Q22 to remain muted as well as smartphone inventories gradually return to normal, resulting in a slower 1H22 compared to 72 million shipments in 1H21,” it said. He.
Last month, a report from Counterpoint showed that smartphone shipments in India were down one percent year-on-year in the March quarter. Strategy Analytics also led a three percent year-on-year decline in smartphone shipments in the country in its report published late last month.
According to recent reports from Strategy Analytics and Counterpoint, in addition to the Indian market, shipments worldwide fell for the third consecutive quarter in the last quarter.
