India's smartphone market set to cross Rs 2-trillion mark in 2021
Buoyed by renewed surge in the demand for smartphones and
rising device costs may push the local smartphone market beyond the record Rs
2-trillion mark in 2021. While disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic led to
the market size shrinking for the first time last year, in 2021, the market is
expected to touch unprecedented levels — both in terms of volume and value.
In 2020, the local market recorded a fall in the number of units
shipped, as shortage in supply of components and the lockdown brought the
market to its knees during the first half of the year.
“Stay-at-home mandates, remote learning, travel restrictions, and
manufacturing shutdowns led to a sluggish first half (shipments declined 26 per
cent year-on-year, or YoY),” observed the International Data Corporation (IDC).
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence,
advisory services, and events for the information technology,
telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.
Total shipments recorded its first fall — declining 2 per cent to
150 million units, from 153 million in 2019.
However, it is the fall in the average selling price (ASP) of
handsets that impacted the market size more than the fall in volume numbers.
According to estimates, the ASP for smartphones last
year came down 5 per cent YoY to Rs 11,200. Since their introduction in the
market in 2010, ASP for smartphones before
2020 have never recorded a fall in the Indian market.
Resultantly, in 2020, the total market size shrank to Rs 1.68
trillion, from Rs 1.77 trillion in 2019.
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According to experts, a poor economic outlook played a key role in
this decline.
“Mass-market consumers were less inclined towards upgrading their
handsets. Most of the volumes were driven by purchases that were absolutely
imperative,” said Navkendar Singh, research director at IDC.
Salary cuts, job losses, and subdued consumer sentiment — a large
section of consumers opted for cheaper options that were just enough to serve
the purpose. It was a major paradigm shift from the earlier trend where
mass-market consumers were driving ASP up, even as they were willing to spend
more on smartphones as a lifestyle barometer.
In 2021, however, with a significant jump in ASP and higher
volumes, the market is estimated to touch Rs 2 trillion. From its previous high
of Rs 11,600 in 2019, the ASP for smartphones is now estimated to breach Rs
12,300.
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