The smartphone shipment information for the 2020 calendar year show that Chinese corporations manage two-thirds, or 75%, of the Indian industry in spite of a developing get in touch with for boycotting their items amid the ongoing border tensions amongst the two nations.
“The anti-China sentiments largely subsided by the end of the year with Chinese brands holding 75% market share in 2020. During the year, we saw innovative channel strategies from leading brands due to changed consumer behaviour in the wake of Covid-19,” Counterpoint Research analyst Shilpi Jain mentioned.
Offline-centric brands such as Samsung, Vivo and Oppo enhanced their on the internet presence. Samsung enhanced its on the internet presence with the Galaxy M series on Amazon and the Galaxy F series on Flipkart. Rival Xiaomi launched ‘Mi on Wheels’ to drive its sales on offline channels and in remote locations.
Xiaomi recaptured the leading spot from Samsung in Q4 2020 with a sturdy 13% year-on-year (y-o-y) development. The South Korean organization had displaced its Chinese rival from the leading spot in Q3 2020. According to Counterpoint Research information, Samsung was when the undisputed leader till Q3 2017 but was replaced for the very first time in Q4 2017 by Xiaomi.
The year 2020 also brought unexpected adjustments in the Indian smartphone business due to Covid-19, anti-China sentiments, and building manufacturing ecosystem. It also marked the re-entry of Indian brands like Micromax.
With its newly launched IN series smartphones, Micromax has reached its highest industry share in six quarters. With Indian brands revamping their portfolios, and Reliance Jio coming up with an entry-level 4G smartphone, 2021 will be a considerable year for Indian brands and the Counterpoint expects their share to boost.
“At the end of the year, we witnessed the return of Indian brands with Micromax announcing its IN series smartphones. Indian brands are looking to expand their market share by leveraging the PLI scheme,” Jain added.
Overall, smartphone shipments declined 4% y-o-y to attain about 150 million units in 2020. However, the industry crossed one hundred million units in the second half of 2020 for the very first time ever. High customer demand right after the lockdown as properly as sturdy promotions on on the internet channels and new use circumstances like e-understanding and work from property drove the industry in the pandemic-hit year.
Another notable function is of Apple surpassing 1.5 million shipments for the very first time in a single quarter in India. Apple captured the sixth spot in Q4 2020 with a big 171% y-o-y development in Q4 and 93% y-o-y development in 2020. The launch of the iPhone 12, aggressive delivers on iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 11 and on the internet expansion drove this development.
India’s mobile handset industry declined 9% y-o-y in 2020 due to a decline in function phone shipments. The function phone industry registered a 20% y-o-y decline final year as shoppers in this segment have been the worst hit by lockdown.