Flipkart, Xiaomi Leading Online Phone Sales in India: Counterpoint

Thanks to new launches and aggressive sell-in ahead of annual online sales like Flipkart's Big Billion and Amazon's Great India festive season sale, every second phone in the country is now sold through online channels, said a new report on Thursday. With 55 percent year-on-year growth, smartphone shipments in the online channel reached their highest ever share of 46 percent during the third quarter of this year, according to the latest research from Counterpoint's Market Monitor service.

Flipkart led the overall online market with a 57 percent share, while Amazon grew over 75 percent year-over-year to capture 33 per cent share within overall online channels.

Within smartphone brands, Xiaomi retained the top spot in the online channels, with 38 percent share, driven by the strong performance of its Redmi 7A, Redmi Note 7 Pro, and Redmi Note 7S models.

Realme online shipments hit a record high with more than 4.5 times year-over-year growth as it focused aggressively in sub-Rs 15,000 segment with some industry-first device features like 64-megapixel camera, said the report.

Samsung gained share in the online segment driven by success of its Galaxy M30s model on Amazon, due to its long battery life (6000mAh) in the budget segment.

Vivo became the number four player in the online segment for the first time ever, driven by its increased focus towards the online channel with its recently launched models, Vivo U10, Vivo Z1X, and Vivo Z1 Pro.

Interestingly, online shipments in the premium segment reached a record high with 79 percent year-over-year growth. OnePlus remained strong on Amazon and this has helped the brand to remain number 1 player in the online premium segment.