India’s Smart TV market records highest ever shipments in 2021, growing 24% YoY: Report

India’s smart TV shipments grew 24 per cent YoY in 2021, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service.

The smart TV market grew even faster at 55 per cent YoY in 2021 and 65 per cent YoY in Q4 2021 to reach its highest ever shipments for a calendar year, the report said.

Shipments grew 48 per cent YoY in Q4 2021 (December quarter).

The overall share of smart TV in the TV market rose to 84 per cent in 2021 from 67 per cent in 2020. 

The growth in the TV market was driven by the post-pandemic economic recovery, faster upgrades in the entry tier and pent-up demand aided by festive sales.

Research Analyst Akash Jatwala said, “The smart TV market is showing tremendous growth, which is attributed to increase in demand for home entertainment amid lockdown, newer launches at affordable prices, growth of new entrants, discount schemes, and premium features at attractive prices.”

“Newer brands are offering advanced display technologies like OLED and QLED at attractive prices, which is also helping in enhancing the viewer experience. Besides, features such as Dolby Atmos and Vision, better sound system, higher refresh rate and larger screen size are gaining ground among buyers,” Jatwala said.

Jatwala further said, “The share of TVs which are above 40” reached 42 per cent in 2021, compared to 31 per cent a year ago, which implies Indian consumers are moving towards bigger-size TVs, especially for watching OTT content and communicating with their dear ones virtually. With brands offering bigger-size TVs at affordable prices, this share is expected to grow much more in the coming period.”

India’s smart TV market remained mostly offline-driven, with 69 per cent of the shipments coming from offline channels.

However, as per Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain, the online channel continues to grow faster, and its contribution increased to around 31 per cent in 2021.

“The pandemic changed the buying habits of many consumers, making them prefer online shopping from the comfort of their homes. Apart from it, TV brands are partnering with e-commerce players and launching their websites to cater to a wide range of consumers and benefit them in terms of accessibility and affordability,” Jain added.

Top five players

Regarding the top five smart TV brands in terms of market share, Xiaomi ( which includes Redmi’s share) topped the list with an 18 per cent market share in terms of shipments in 2021.The brand’s best-selling models include the MI TV 4A, MI TV 4X, MI TV 4A Horizon edition and Redmi Smart TV X series.

“Xiaomi is constantly expanding its product portfolio by offering newer features to its customers, the latest being the MI LED TV 4C series that comes with PatchWall and offers 77 free live channels,x the report said.

Samsung took the second spot with a 16 per cent market share in the smart TV market in 2021. It led the overall TV shipments in 2021 with an 18 per cent share. Its entry-level T4000 series was its main volume driver in 2021 and helped it lead the overall TV market.

“The new launches from the Crystal series also performed well during the year. Samsung’s QLED TV segment grew about 2x during the year,” as per the report.

LG stood third in the smart TV segment with an 11 per cent market share driven by its entry-level models. It was followed by Sony and OnePlus, each holding a 6 per cent market share.

During the year, LG launched the premium NanoCell TVs which saw great traction.l, as per the report.

“Sony was the most sought brand in the >₹40,000 price range, although the affordable W series was its main volume driver,” as per the report.

In the ultra-premium category (>₹70,000), the X series was a top-selling series in 2021.

OnePlus witnessed a record 354 per cent growth in shipment during the year.

Its entry-level Y series was the volume driver, whereas the U1S was among the sought-after models in the >₹40,000 range, as per the report.

Realme’s shipments grew 72 per cent YoY in 2021. It was one of the most preferred smart TV brands in the entry-level segment (<₹20,000) due to its “better features and attractive prices.”

In the “Others” category, many brands performed well in 2021, such as Nokia, TCL, Panasonic, BPL, Kodak and Blaupunkt, which were able to make a mark through portfolio expansion.

“Newer models from existing players, entry of new brands, enhanced features, bigger displays and attractive prices helped in increasing the penetration of smart TVs in 2021,” as per the report.

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