Canalys: India's smartphone shipments reached 44.6 million units in Q3 2022, down 6% year-on-year

In the third quarter of 2022, India's smartphone shipments were 44.6 million units, down 6% year-on-year, dragged down by the sluggish low-end market. Xiaomi ranked first with sales of 9.2 million units, thanks to the brand's online sales momentum before the festive season in July. Samsung ranked second with shipments of 8.1 million units, and its momentum in the mid-to-high-end product segment was strong due to active promotions and promotions. Vivo and OPPO jumped to third and fourth, respectively, with shipments of 7.3 million and 7.1 million units, while Realme fell to fifth with shipments of 6.2 million units.

Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said: "Online sales before festivals and Independence Day are a great opportunity for vendors to clear their inventory before entering the festive season. The good news is that consumer demand improved in the last few weeks of the quarter as the festive season began. Sales of entry-level devices have declined this year due to inflation. Sales of mid-to-high-end devices have been relatively good due to aggressive promotional activities. Oppo's OnePlus and vivo's iQOO are two brands that drove growth in the mid-range e-commerce channel during this period. Super-premium smartphones, especially older generation flagship phones, also experienced strong demand momentum amid price cuts. Samsung Electronics has offered heavy discounts on the older Galaxy Z Fold3 and the latest Galaxy S22 series through both online and offline channels. Similarly, demand for the heavily discounted iPhone 13 exceeded that of the latest iPhone 14, which has a very similar value proposition to the iPhone 13."

Chaurasia said, “The growing popularity of 5G devices is supporting the growth of overall device ASP and sales revenue. With operators launching 5G services in tier-I cities, it is the right time for vendors to launch 5G product portfolios for smartphone upgraders in the next few years. Entry-level brands are also trying to tap the 5G opportunity. Jio and Google are developing the most affordable 5G smartphones to compete with major brands. Although from a cost perspective, super-affordable 5G phones are unlikely to enter the market in the near term as 5G chipsets are unlikely to see significant price cuts.”

Business activity remains resilient as consumer sentiment in India gradually improves. The Indian rupee has steadily depreciated against the US dollar since June, hitting an all-time low of INR 83.06 on October 20. From an operational perspective, importers will continue to feel the pinch, especially from rising raw material costs. These challenges will persist into Q4, primarily impacting price-sensitive consumers as device ASPs will continue to rise. As the mass market remains critical to vendors’ overall market share, brands will look for different ways to improve operational and channel efficiencies to minimize the costs passed on to end consumers.”