India’s smartphone shipments to dip in Q4: IDC
NEW DELHI: Smartphone shipment in India is expected to see a decline in the December quarter due to supply challenges, resulting in annual shipments below 160 million in 2021, according to research firm IDC.
Smartphone shipment registered a year-on-year decline of 12% in the September 2021 quarter, shipping 48 million units after four consecutive quarters of growth, IDC said.
“The first nine months of the year (January-September 2021) already shipped 120 million units, with H1 2021 clocking 42% y-o-y growth. Due to supply challenges, Q4 2021 is expected to see a decline, resulting in annual shipments below 160 million in 2021,” IDC India Research Director (Client Devices and IPDS) Navkendar Singh said.
The first half of 2022 will remain challenging, with some easing out expected in the latter half of 2022, he added.
“Vendors will keep an eye on the over-stocking situation in case demand stays limited due to the price hikes by the suppliers and vendors,” Singh said.
The smartphone market registered a year-on-year decline of 12% in the September 2021 quarter.
IDC said much of this can be attributed to component shortages as well as an “unusually high third quarter 2020 comparison base” (whereas this year’s post-lockdown demand was addressed by July). Compared to the third quarter of 2019, September 2021 quarter grew by 3% as channels stocked up for the Diwali quarter amid the supply shortages, it added.
Xiaomi led the smartphone tally with 23.4%, followed by Samsung (16.9%), Vivo (16.4%), Realme (15.7%) and Oppo (10.7%) in the September 2021 quarter.
Online channels clocked a record high 52%share, although with a 5% y-o-y shipment volume decline, it said adding that offline channels registered an 18 per cent y-o-y shipment decline.
IDC said India was the thirdlargest 5G smartphone market globally with 7% of worldwide 5G shipments, shipping 10 million units at an ASP (average selling price) of $401 in the September 2021 quarter. From January-September 2021, 17 million 5G smartphones were shipped to India and are expected to be under 30 million for 2021.
The OnePlus Nord CE, iPhone 12, and Galaxy A22 were the most popular 5G models in the quarter under review.
Overall ASPs peaked at $196, driven by price hikes and a greater 5G contribution, IDC said. The sub-$200 segment dropped by 24%, while $200plus smartphones grew by 56%, signaling a shift to higher price buckets, driven primarily by supply, it added.
“IDC believes that a growing dependency on smartphones triggered by remote work and learning, as well as a subsequent requirement for better quality hardware is pushing consumers to spend more,” IDC India Research Manager, Client Devices Upasana Joshi said.