India shipped 36.4 million smartphones during the second quarter. Though total shipments declined sequentially, in terms of year-on-year (YoY) comparison, shipments were 12% more than last year’s second quarter, when India was coping with the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic.
Despite a fall in both sequential and annual shipments, Chinese electronics company Xiaomi held on to the number one position with 7 million unit shipments and 19% market share. Samsung remains the second leading brand with an 18% market share on the back of 6.7 million unit shipments. The South Korean company reported a 23% YoY growth during the quarter.
There was no change in brand ranking in the top five. BBK Group companies Realme, Vivo, and Oppo accounted for 48% of the market share between them. All three registered YoY growth of 22%, 10%, and 26%, respectively. Oppo and Vivo continued to develop their omnichannel strategy and launched new devices, which helped them grow, said Canalys.
Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo are under investigation by India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly laundering money.
“Vendor activity remained muted in Q2, due to falling demand and government scrutiny of Chinese manufacturers," said Sanyam Chaurasia, an analyst at Canalys.
Inflation and fear of recession have also affected buyer sentiments. Chaurasia said, rising inflation has impacted the disposable income of consumers. Meanwhile, vendors are struggling to cover their operating costs.
Chaurasia further said that brands will offer deep discount sales in the coming months to get rid of stock before the holiday season. “There will be more of these monsoon season sales on Flipkart and Amazon," he added.
He also warned that the second half of the year will not see a surge in pent-up demand like last year during the third quarter.
“The rebound through the festive holiday season will be driven by replacement purchases," he added.
