Driven by attractive promotions and exclusive launches of popular brands, Smartphones sales in the e-commerce zone continues to flourish in the Indian market.
Data from a market research firm Counterpoint shows that online smartphone segment captured a whopping 38 percent share of total smartphone sales during the first quarter of 2018 whereas last year in the same quarter, the online sales stood at 34 percent. Offline smartphone sales declined by 3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.
Xiaomi, which has disrupted the Indian smartphone market in the mid-segment, continues to grow and consolidate its position. Strikingly, Mi.com has grown faster than big rivals Amazon and Flipkart. Xiaomi which already has created its market by offering exclusive deals on Amazon and Flipkart is now growing its own portal by active media strategy and engaging MI fan community.
Data presented by Counterpoint reviles that in online space Mi.com increased its market share to 14 percent in first quarter of 2018 up from 10 percent during the same quarter last year. While, Flipkart increased its online market share from 51 percent to 54 percent in Q1, 2018 as against Q1, 2017. Amazon recorded a fall of 3 percent in its market share of 33 percent from last year; however, it continues to dominate the e-commerce market in the premium smartphone segment chiefly because of its exclusive partnership with OnePlus.
Xiaomi also maintained its lead in India's online smartphone market with 57 percent share in the first quarter of the current year, followed by Samsung at 14 percent and Huawei that captured 8 percent share. In recent years, Chinese mobile companies have dominated the Indian smartphone segment by launching series of models in the mid-segment bracket.
Apple's push to start a manufacturing plant in India also shows Tim cook's aggressive plans to capture the emerging cell phone market in India. In order to maintain its market share, companies are tying up with e-commerce players to give exclusive deals to the customers. The battle is expected to grow tighter with the entry of Walmart in the Indian market and Jio phone with cheap data plans.
