India Smartphone Sector Stagnant in Q3 2023, Realme Overtakes Vivo in Market Share: IDC

A recent research states that sluggish performance in the quarter caused India's smartphone market to remain flat year over year in Q3 2023 with shipments of 44 million units. Its forecast for the market in 2023 suggests that shipments will remain steady or decline slightly. The research adds that the first two months of the third quarter, July and August, saw single-digit growth as the channels began early seasonal stocking. However, September saw the lowest shipments since 2019 due to dwindling demand and high prices.

A report by International Data Corporation (IDC) says that the Indian smartphone market maintained a flat 44 million units of shipments in Q3, resulting in a flat growth on a year-on-year basis. The ASP (average selling price) increased by 12 percent YoY and 5 percent QoQ (quarter-over-quarter) and peaked at $253 (roughly Rs. 21,000).

The report noted that vendors across all channels, online and offline, prioritised budget 5G smartphones over others. 5G smartphone shipments accounted for 25 million units, setting a record 58 percent share. Since most 5G models were released in the mass budget bracket ($100 < $200 (roughly Rs. 8,300 < Rs. 16,700)), the segment's 5G share has increased from 34 percent to 52 percent. The top three 5G models shipped in the third quarter of the year were Apple's iPhone 13, Xiaomi's Redmi 12, and Samsung's Galaxy A14.

Samsung overtook Vivo as the most popular brand, despite a YoY fall in shipments. Among the top five brands, Samsung had the highest ASP at $381 (roughly Rs. 31,700), increasing 43 percent year over year. The report also noted that with the help of the recently released Realme C53 and Realme 11x, the Chinese brand rose to the second position. With the exception of iQoo, Vivo had the fastest growth among the top five brands, thanks to its reasonably priced Vivo Y and Vivo T series phones. Poco and OnePlus both saw YoY growth of 50 percent or more, with the OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite accounting for 35 percent of shipments.

In just one quarter, shipments of foldable phones reached a record 500,000 units, with Samsung holding a 66 percent market share. The average selling price of foldable phones dropped from $1,319 (roughly Rs. 1,09,800) to $1,198 (roughly Rs. 99,800) from a year ago owing to new releases by Motorola at cheaper price points.

Shipments via offline channels grew by double digits in Q3 2023 and remained bigger than online channels. According to the report, a number of eTailer events (like Amazon Great India Festival and Flipkart's Big Billion Days) with exclusive online deals and special platform pricing helped boost demand online.