India’s smartphone market records highest-ever shipments, revenue in 2021: Report

India’s smartphone shipments grew 11 per cent year-on-year to reach a record 169 million units in 2021, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. However, smartphone shipments declined 8 per cent y-o-y in the December quarter owing to supply issues plaguing the smartphone manufacturing ecosystem.

Prachir Singh, Senior Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research, said, “The Indian smartphone market witnessed high consumer demand in 2021, making it the best-performing year. This feat came in a year that witnessed supply constraints due to a multitude of reasons — a second and more virulent Covid-19 wave, global component shortages and price hikes due to these shortages.”

Replacement demand

According to Singh, the 11 per cent y-o-y growth in shipments was led by “the high replacement demand fuelled by increasing smartphone affordability in the mid-and high-price tiers due to promotions and discounts, as well as better financing options”.

He added that the demand outstripped supply in the last two quarters of 2021. “We expect the supply situation to get better going forward and reach normalcy by the end of Q1 CY2022,” Singh said.

Higher selling prices

Shilpi Jain, Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research, said that India’s smartphone market retail ASP (average selling price) grew 14 per cent y-o-y in 2021 to reach its highest ever at $227.

“The price hikes in the budget segment due to component price rise, increasing focus of OEMs on the premium segment and increased demand for mid-range and premium smartphones due to increasing uses and availability of financing options contributed to the increasing ASP,” said Jain.

This has led to the Indian smartphone market revenue crossing $38 billion in 2021, a growth of 27 per cent y-o-y. 5G shipments registered a 555 per cent y-o-y growth in 2021. 

Domestic manufacturing

Talking about the developing manufacturing ecosystem, Jain added, “Local manufacturing bounced back, contributing 98 per cent shipments in 2021 compared to 90 per cent in 2020. The PLI scheme has been a great booster for the Indian mobile manufacturing ecosystem, attracting top players like Apple and Samsung to increase their ‘Make in India’ footprint and make India their export hub.”

Owing to this, handset exports saw 26 per cent y-o-y growth in 2021. “Seeing the PLI scheme’s success in the mobile manufacturing ecosystem, the government has launched similar schemes for different product verticals like CIOT and IT hardware,” she said.

In terms of mobile handsets, India’s overall mobile handset market grew 7 per cent y-o-y in 2021. Feature phone shipments reached 86 million units to show flat growth in 2021.

Xiaomi keeps the top spot

In terms of smartphone shipments, Xiaomi maintained the top spot with a 24 per cent market share, recording a with 2 per cent y-o-y growth, followed by Samsung at 18 per cent. Vivo, Realme and Oppo took the third, fourth and fifth spots with 15 per cent, 14 per cent and 10 per cent market share, respectively. 

Xiaomi’s slower growth can be attributed to a component shortage in the second half of the year, which affected volumes in the mass market segment. The brand grew 258 per cent in the premium segment (>₹30,000, ~$400) in 2021 with the Mi 11x series. “Going forward, it will keep focusing on the premium segment and offline expansion,” the report said. 

Samsung sees drop in shipments

Samsung recorded an 8 per cent y-o-y decline in shipments. “Supply chain disruptions, absence of a new Note series, reduced focus on the entry-level segment and fewer launches in the mid segment compared to the previous year led to an overall decline,” it said.

However, it was the top brand in 5G smartphone shipments in Q4 CY2021. The growth was supported by its campaign on providing maximum bands in 5G smartphones. It also led the ₹20,000-45,000 (~$267-600) segment with a 28 per cent share. Samsung’s foldable device (Fold and Flip series) shipments grew 388 per cent y-o-y in 2021.

realme grows fast

realme was the fastest growing in 2021 among the top five with a 20 per cent y-o-y growth. It also captured the second spot in Q4 CY2021 for the first time ever. 

“Switching to ‘Unisoc’ to manage component shortages, production expansion through partnerships with EMS, focus on the premium segment with newly launched ‘GT series’ and high demand for its revamped C series and Narzo series favoured this high growth for Realme,” according to the report. 

The brand will focus on bringing 5G to the sub-₹10,000 (~$100) segment in 2022. It is also planning to enter the ultra-premium segment.

Vivo leads offline segment

Vivo, on the other hand, was the top 5G smartphone brand in 2021 with a 19 per cent share. The brand grew 2 per cent y-o-y in 2021, driven by a strong performance of its Y series and V series. 

“It remains the leading player in the offline segment while simultaneously strengthening its hold in the online segment through its sub-brand iQOO,” the report said. 

Oppo, the brand at the fifth spot, “now has a leaner portfolio in the budget segment as it is focusing on the upper, mid and premium segments. In the premium segment, it was the fastest-growing brand in 2021,” as per the report. 

Premium players

Apple was also one of the fastest-growing brands in 2021 with 108 per cent y-o-y growth in shipments. It maintained its lead in the premium segment (>₹30,000, ~$400) with a 44 per cent share. 

“Aggressive offers during the festive season, strong demand for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 and increased ‘Make in India’ capabilities drove high growth. We expect strong momentum for Apple in 2022 as well with increased manufacturing and retail footprint,” the report said.

OnePlus recorded its highest ever shipments in 2021, crossing the five-million mark with a 59 per cent y-o-y growth driven by the OnePlus Nord Series. It led the affordable premium segment (₹30,000-45,000, ~$400-600). It also captured the second position in the premium segment (>₹30,000, ~$400) with a 19 per cent share. Camera innovations will be a key focus for the brand in 2022.

Handset market 

Samsung captured the top position in the handset market in 2021, taking 17 per cent share. It was followed by Xiaomi with a 16 per cent market share. Vivo and Realme shared the third spot with a 10 per cent market share each, followed by Itel with a 9 per cent share. 

Itel led the feature phone market, taking 24 per cent share followed by Lava, Samsung and Jio. Itel has been leading the feature phone market for the last two consecutive years, as per the report.

Transsion Group brands (Itel, Infinix and TECNO) registered 55 per cent y-o-y growth in 2021 and crossed 10 million shipments for the first time ever in a single year. 

“They also maintained their third position in the overall handset market, with Itel being the largest player in the feature phone market. Aggressive launches with a strong value proposition, strong demand in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and hybrid channel strategy were some of the factors behind this growth,” as per the report. 

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