Apple and Samsung dominate $3B smartphone sales during festive season
Samsung and Apple have topped India's first wave of festive season smartphone sales, which ran from September 26 to October 6. The success of these tech giants comes on the back of aggressive marketing and deep discounts during online sales events like Flipkart's Big Billion Days and Amazon India's Great Indian Festival. Market trackers estimate smartphone brands sold devices worth $3 billion during this first phase of the festive season sale.
Samsung leads in volume and value
During the first wave of festive sales, Samsung trumped other brands in both volume and value. This was due to aggressive offers across all price segments on Flipkart and Amazon India. As the main sponsor for these sales events, Samsung got an additional push. TechInsights reports a 17% growth in Samsung's volume sales year-on-year during this sale period, giving it a market share of 20%. However, Counterpoint Research estimates the market share to be slightly lower at 17-18%.
Apple secures 2nd place with 16% market share
Apple bagged the second spot with a 16% market share, a major jump from its fourth-place finish in 2023. The company's volume sales increased by a whopping 44%, primarily due to the success of the iPhone 15, which sold over one million units during the 11-day sale period. Despite witnessing single-digit volume growth during the period, Apple's iPhone 15 was the best-selling ultra-premium smartphone, Counterpoint Research associate director Tarun Pathak reported.
Apple dominates ultra-premium category
The availability of the latest iPhone 16 series just ahead of the sales festivals helped Apple rope in new buyers. Faisal Kawoosa, founder and analyst at TechArc, observed that brands launching products just ahead of such sales events tend to garner a lot of attention from potential buyers. He also said more customers chose premium smartphones during this period, with sales crossing a million units in the ultra-premium category priced above ₹70,000 for the first time.
Amazon leads online sales with over 55% share
Preliminary estimates by TechArc indicate that smartphones worth $2-2.3 billion were sold online in the first wave of sales. Amazon dominated these online sales with over 55% market share, while Flipkart took the rest. Kawoosa also pointed out "the availability of fast-selling models during the period was high on Amazon, which led to more sales." He added most sales were for smartphones priced between ₹12,000-15,000 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
Analysts predict up to 10% growth in festive season sales
Analysts predict smartphone sales during the entire festive season will grow by up to 10% YoY. Counterpoint estimates suggest volume sales during the festive season are expected to grow 3% on-year, while sales in terms of value are projected to rise by 9-10%. CyberMedia Research (CMR) predicts a similar trend with a 10% year-over-year growth in unit sales during this festive season, mainly driven by the rise in online shopping.
