Smartphone shipments in India drop 5 percent YoY; Xiaomi retains lead

Xiaomi has once again emerged as India’s top-selling smartphone brand in Q3 2021. But supply chain issues have caused a decline in smartphone shipments to India in the third quarter this year.

According to data from the latest Canalys report, smartphone shipments to India dropped to 47.5 million units between July to September as compared to 50 million units shipped in the same period last year. The report noted that supply chain weaknesses mostly affected the entry-level segment.

The technology-market tracker predicted that supply chain issues will continue into the fourth quarter, which will lead to longer lead times and higher retail prices.

Xiaomi continued to lead in the Indian smartphone market with 24 percent market share; in Q3 2021, it shipped 11.2 million units. However, the company experienced a 14 percent decline in shipments as compared to the same quarter last year.

Samsung has the second highest market share at 17%. The brand too saw a dip in demand, to 9.1 million units in the quarter as compared to 10.2 million in the same period last year. Vivo saw an 8 percent decline in shipments to 8.1 million units from 8.8 million; Realme saw a 13.8 per cent fall to 7.5 million from 8.7 million units and Oppo registered a 7 percent dip to 6.2 million from 6.6 million.

While all the five top smartphone brands saw a decline in the total units shipped, Realme and Xiaomi were hit the hardest with a 14 percent decline. However, the report also noted that the other brands accounted for 5 percent of the market share and experienced 108 percent growth in Q3 2021.