Smartphones brace for another lacklustre festive season

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₹17,000 to ₹18,000 now from over ₹20,000 at the start of the year," Pathak said on Monday. This, he said, could lead to “low single-digit growth" in smartphone shipments in the current quarter. However, consumer demand remains tepid.

Manish Khatri, partner at Mumbai-based retailer Mahesh Telecom, said device sales and consumer interest “continue to remain low". “The mid-range price bracket of smartphones has continued to decline and remain low in demand. There are some isolated demand factors in the premium segment such as in Samsung’s Galaxy Flip series, and Apple’s iPhones.

However, the bulk segment shipments remain weak, and there is no sign of revival from the previous year," Khatri said. Kailash Lakhyani, founder and chairman of industry body All India Mobile Retailers’ Association (Aimra), said there is no indication of any demand revival so far as well as festive season offers. “Most of the retailers continue to see lukewarm demand, and until the bulk of the discount offers commence post Independence Day, there is no sign of a rise in demand," he said.

IDC’s Singh added that a clear reason could be the void left in the market by a lack of compelling device options in the mainstream price categories of under ₹20,000—pushing more buyers towards the second-hand smartphone market. “Xiaomi and Realme, two of the largest brands by volume, are likely to remain conservative this festive season, and the entire year. Xiaomi is struggling to pick up their device shipment figures, which has left a void in the market that multiple brands such as Samsung, the Transsion group and homegrown Lava are trying to fill-up.