Strategy Analytics: Samsung smartphone sales lead the 2022 Indian holiday promotion season

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics , driven by a 19% increase in wholesale average selling prices , smartphone sales revenue in India grew 17% year-on-year in the first eight days of the holiday season from September 23 to 30 , 2022. Samsung led with a 26% market share, followed by Xiaomi and Realme .

Abhilash Kumar, Industry Analyst at Strategy Analytics , said: “ We estimate that 12.8 million smartphones were sold in the first week of this year’s holiday smartphone season in India , generating revenue of $ 2.1 billion, up 17% year-on-year . Smartphone wholesale ASP increased 19% year-on-year to $ 165 . Sales this year were more skewed towards mid- to high-end smartphones compared to low-end phones. This is one of the reasons for the steady growth in ASP . In terms of volume, entry-level devices saw a decline in sales due to high inflation and recession fears, with sales down 2% compared to the first week of last year’s holiday season . But the increase in ASP offset the decline in sales, resulting in a significant revenue growth. ”

Chart 1: Market share of the top three manufacturers in the first week of the 2022 Indian holiday promotion season

In terms of vendor dynamics and Samsung’s performance, Sui Qian, Senior Director at Strategy Analytics, added: “ Samsung, Xiaomi and Realme were the top three brands in this Indian holiday promotion season. Together, these three brands accounted for 62% of total sales. Samsung led the way with a 26% market share in the first week of this year’s holiday promotion season . We estimate that Samsung sold 3.3 million smartphones this year, successfully surpassing Chinese vendors due to its attractive price discounts across all price ranges and enhanced channel presence. This time, the maximum discount on Samsung phones was about 40% off the actual retail price. High-end models such as S22 Ultra, S21 FE, S22 Plus, and Z Flip 3 all had considerable discounts and sold well during the festive season. In the mid-range market, Samsung Galaxy F13 and M13 also saw significant price cuts and sold well. ”

Commenting on the performance of Chinese brands, Rajeev Nair, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, added: “ We estimate Xiaomi and Realme to sell 2.5 million and 2.2 million units respectively this year , ranking second and third with 20% and 17% market share respectively. Chinese brands face huge headwinds in India and limited channel promotion budgets, resulting in weak performance this year. Xiaomi gave way to Samsung. ”

Abhilash Kumar, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics added, “ Apple’s sales were good even though it didn’t make it into the top three. Apple devices were discounted up to 33% at major e-tailers . Second-generation devices like the iPhone 13 were discounted significantly and were in high demand. We believe the iPhone 13 was the best-selling model for two reasons. First, it was the latest of all the models available for sale and was discounted attractively. Second, the look and feel of the iPhone 14 was very similar to the iPhone 13 , with the same processor, except for satellite connectivity and crash detection. Hence, people preferred to go for the cheaper iPhone 13. We believe that after the iPhone 13 was discounted, its demand will further grow in the upcoming holiday sales. ”