New product launches, promotions—and yes, pent-up demand from 2020—has triggered a robust growth for smartphone shipments in India for the first quarter of 2021.
A new report by Counterpoint Market Monitor showed that India’s smartphone shipments reached 38 million units, or about 23 percent growth, in Q1 2020. This, according to Counterpoint, is the highest first quarter shipment in the country.
Chinese brands hold 75% market share
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi leads the market in Q1 2021 with a 26 percent market share—down 5 percent from the 31 percent market share it recorded in Q1 2020. Five out of the top 10 smartphone models in India are from Xiaomi, according to Counterpoint.
Taking the top 2 spot is South Korea’s Samsung, with 20 percent market share. Other top brands that have dominated the Indian smartphone market include vivo (16 percent), Realme (11 percent), Oppo (11 percent), and others (16 percent).
Shilpi Jain, research analyst at Counterpoint, noted that “Samsung maintained a high number of new product launches in its Galaxy M-series, Galaxy F-series as well as the Galaxy S21 series during the quarter. Besides, realme launched its 8 series, OnePlus announced its 9 series and Xiaomi launched its Redmi Note 10 series that has started well. Brands are also focusing on promotions and financial schemes to increase consumer demand.”
In addition, Jain said, “Xiaomi has recently expanded its manufacturing capabilities with new EMS partners, which helped the brand maintain strong shipments during the quarter. All the major brands are focusing on new product launches to drive consumer demand.”
Xiaomi proves to be popular brand
As the lockdown continues due to the COVID-19 virus, Counterpoint experts are expecting the local consumer demand to “take a hit.”
“Continuing with its stellar run, India’s smartphone market registered a third consecutive quarter of record shipments in Q1 2021, riding on pent-up demand. Consumer confidence also increased due to the beginning of a vaccination drive in the country. But these numbers should be taken with caution as a second and more virulent wave of COVID-19 is currently on in the country and is likely to impact the coming quarters. The consumer demand will take a hit due to the ongoing COVID-19 wave and subsequent lockdowns,” Counterpoint senior research analyst Prachir Singh said.
Still, there’s no denying that the current lockdowns have prompted consumers in India to spend more time on their mobile devices—be it for work, study, spend virtual time with their family and friends, or even play online casino games at 7Jackpots or at Indian gambling sites such as PureWin.com, as well as watch videos and check social media. For a largely mobile-first gaming market like India, an ENV Media report noted how “a booming smartphone market and much cheaper data packages” contributed to the growth of the mobile gaming industry in the country.
ENV Media’s Robin Hallengren said, “During Q1, 24% of sevenjackpots.com’s visitors used a Xiaomi phone, being the clear leader. iOS devices contributed to only 5% of the visits.”
