Through the years, India has been building its reputation as the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world. The country’s efforts finally bore fruit as it cemented achieved success in 2016, selling over 27.5 million devices in the second quarter. But that doesn’t stop there. Experts have projected that the progression will continue in 2017. With such promising growth, will India eventually rule the smartphone market in the world?
Forecast On India’s Smartphone Market
In 2015, Digital Trends published an article predicting that India will be the second-largest smartphone market by 2017. Another report from Strategy Analytics put it more bluntly, saying that the nation will unseat the US this year.
True enough; the country is currently seeing tremendous growth in the mobile industry. In fact, India recorded a 6 percent growth in the January-March period. Furthermore, shipments grew 15 percent to 29 million units in the said quarter. If the trend continues, it might be possible that India will record higher sales than the US this year.
True enough; the country is currently seeing tremendous growth in the mobile industry. In fact, India recorded a 6 percent growth in the January-March period. Furthermore, shipments grew 15 percent to 29 million units in the said quarter. If the trend continues, it might be possible that India will record higher sales than the US this year.
Factors Boosting Sales
Why do India’s sales keep on growing? Let us look at some of the factors:Affordability
More and more consumers are buying mobile handsets in India due to their low prices, and they are equipped with advanced features. There are 4G smartphones below 10000 INR, and they are sophisticated enough for work and everyday use. Aside from affordable smartphones, many telecom companies in India also offer data plans at reasonable costs.Technological Advancements
Even the Indian government is contributing to the popularity of smartphones in the country. The initiative “Digital India”, for instance, promotes smart banking services.Cashless Payments
India is now gaining momentum to turn into a cashless society. A report from Business Standard says that cities in the country have adopted the system.Rural areas are beginning to catch up as well. Khandalavadi was the first cashless village in India, where residents are using mobile wallets to pay for food delivery, taxi, and other services.
Millennials
Who else will be more welcoming of new technologies than millennials, right? India has a large and growing population of this demographic. And every time people from this age bracket begin to earn, consumers, more often than not, will contribute to the country’s digital consumption. For instance, he/she will buy a smartphone.Competition Among Manufacturers
Another major factor that boosts smartphone sales in India is a tight competition. Moreover, it deserves a closer look due to the intriguing fact that Chinese manufacturers are dominating the market.Yes, you read that right. Chinese smartphones are more popular in India than the local ones. At least, that is what the data shows. Here is an overview of market shares for the March quarter as provided by the Business Standard:
- Samsung: 26%
- Xiaomi: 13%
- Vivo: 12%
- Oppo: 10%
- Lenovo: 8%
Moreover, the growing price aggressiveness in India pushes manufacturers to keep their products affordable. And as they do so, more consumers are able to buy smartphones.
Capping It Off
Based on recent reports, we can see that the smartphone market trend in the country is still growing. The nation is basically ripe for digital investments. If the growth in India continues, and if the US market remains slow, then there is a high probability that the former will replace the latter in the ranks.We can almost expect year-end reports to declare India as the second largest smartphone market in the world. Not that far-fetched, right? Still, the question remains: will India attain a worldwide rule and unseat China?
Well, if you can see the competition in the country, it is hard to answer in the affirmative. If local manufacturers completely step up to the game and match everything the Chinese companies will offer, then there is a chance. That is a problem India has to resolve, and we’ll only have to wait and see in the coming months or years.
Author Bio: Mary Alusin is a content writer of SmartTechie.in. She is a passionate writer who has written a number of articles related to gadgets and technological advancements today. When she is not using her time typing on the computer, she spends quality time with her daughter.
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