35 million smartphones likely to be sold this festival season

Smartphone - festive sale

More than 35 million smartphones will likely be sold in India during this year’s festival season that ends with Diwali, which will be celebrated on November 1.

The number represents a 3 percent increase in volume and 9 percent in value from the previous year, Counterpoint Research estimates.

The first wave of the festival season sales (September 26 to October 7) saw a minor decline of 3 percent in smartphone volumes, crossing 13 million units. But value saw an upward trend, growing by 8 percent and crossing $3.2 billion for the first time, the market tracker said.

This year, festival season sales kicked off on September 26, with Flipkart and Amazon hosting their big annual events, Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival.

The festive season is crucial for India's smartphone market, as it accounts for 20 to 25 percent of its annual sales.

Online channels contributed almost 70 percent to the smartphone sales in the first phase.

Premium smartphones priced at Rs 30,000 continued to buck the trend, with a 7 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in sales volume.

The ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above) saw a 12 percent YoY growth during the first wave, thanks to Apple and Samsung.

Apple's iPhone 15 and 13 were the top-selling premium smartphones on Flipkart and Amazon, respectively. For Samsung, deals on the Galaxy S23, S23 Ultra, and S23 FE drove premium volumes.

Offline sales started picking up after October 2, which marked the end of the 16-day Shradh period during which people avoid making big-ticket purchases. The offers on offline channels have also improved, reducing the urgency for consumers to buy during the early days of the sale.

In the first wave, Samsung emerged as the best-selling brand by volume and value. Counterpoint said the company’s sale volume grew 18 percent and by value, sales were up 22 percent.

Apple's sales grew by single digits in terms of volume. The value grew more due to the strong performance of the iPhone 15, the best-selling premium device during the first wave. Samsung's Galaxy S23 was the top-selling premium Android device.

"Outside the top five brands, Motorola was the fastest-growing during the first wave. We expect offline-centric brands like Vivo, OPPO, TECNO and itel to perform better during the coming sales as offline demand starts to pick up," Counterpoint added.

In the budget segment, Samsung Galaxy A14, Galaxy M35, Moto G85, Redmi 13 series and Realme Narzo series were among the top performers.