Smartphone Market is Expected to Bounce Back Next Year: Report

• The smartphone market is expected to bounce back next year with double-digit growth
• The unabated aggression of the online players will continue to be a challenge for the offline channel

According to a report by International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India, the growth of smartphone sales for 2019 is expected to be the slowest since 2016, the year of demonetisation, with sluggish purchases expected in the fourth quarter and weaker demand in the offline channel, which accounts for most purchases.

India’s smartphone market is expected to grow

IDC India’s research director Navkendar Singh told ET Telecom that India’s smartphone market is expected to grow in the mid-to-high single-digit in 2019 due to a strong undercurrent of passive consumer sentiment and muted shipments in the last quarter of the year following record third-quarter stock levels.

He further stated that the unabated aggression of the online players will continue to be a challenge for the offline channel, which remains the largest channel for smartphones in India. All these give us an indication of sluggish growth next quarter.

Upasana Joshi, associate research manager, client devices, IDC India informed that continued aggression by online platforms with attractive cashback and buyback offers as well as affordability schemes like no-cost EMIs and financing options were key in taking the share of the online channel to a record high of 45.4 per cent, with YoY growth of 28.3 per cent.

Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research shared that the smartphone market is expected to bounce back next year with double-digit growth, given that the installed handset base is close to 470 million in a market of over 1.3 billion people.

He further stated that this year, it will end up close to 9 per cent, which is still a decent rate despite the economic slowdown in the country.