Samsung, OnePlus woes threaten premium smartphone growth in India
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : India’s premium smartphones market witnessed a surprisingly muted festive period as buyers deferred purchases citing lack of innovation, according to retailers and distributors.
Samsung and OnePlus saw the most tepid demand from buyers for smartphones priced at ₹40,000 ($500) or more during the six-week period from mid-September to end October, said six retailers and distributors across India that Mint spoke with. Read this | Diwali smartphone sales revive budget phones—for now “Samsung’s premium devices saw a clear downturn in demand from buyers during the festive period, even though it did strongly in the budget 5G smartphones range," said Manish Khatri, partner at Mumbai-based retailer Mahesh Telecom.
Most buyers who walked in during the festive period were not too impressed with the features that Samsung’s or OnePlus flagship phones currently offer, he said. Lower sales in the lucrative high-priced smartphone category, which has fuelled revenue growth for smartphone retailers, distributors and brands after Covid-19 pandemic, will be a concern to the industry.
Premium devices ($400+) account for 13% of the market by volume according to market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC), but deliver a greater share of revenue and profit, with margins being up to 10 times that of budget phones priced at $180 or lesser. Read this | Apple marks record India, global quarterly revenues, driven by iPhone sales OnePlus’ shipments to retailers across India during the festive period declined 46% year-on-year, according to data shared with Mint by market researcher Counterpoint India.
Its market share during the festival season fell from 6% last year to 4% this time. Samsung’s
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