smartphone shipments in India decreased by 13% between the first and second quarters of 2021 to 32.4 million units. Smartphone shipments in India fell by 13% between the first quarter (Q1) and second quarter (Q2) of 2021, to 32.4 million units, due to the second wave of COVID-19, which stifled demand. But because of Q2 2020’s two-month shutdown, the year-on-year comparison was extremely favorable, with shipments up 87%. Xiaomi shipped 9.5 million units, securing a 29 percent share of the market. With a 17.7% market share, Samsung remained in second place with 5.5 million units shipped. With 5.4 million units shipped, Vivo came in third, and Realme beat Oppo out of fourth place with 4.9 million units shipped compared to Oppo’s 3.8 million.
Consumers’ disposable income was constrained as a result of regional restrictions and economic disruption caused by an increase in COVID-19 cases. “India was taken by surprise by its second wave, as the new COVID variant emerged and took hold quickly,” said Canalys Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia. “For smartphone vendors, this was a wake-up call, and shows the importance of bolstering both online and offline presences equally. Many smartphone manufacturers in India had planned to invest in infrastructure for branded stores and partnerships with third-party offline channels in the event that COVID-19 did not return. But once again they were quickly compelled to pivot to an online strategy.”
Brands that succeeded in the online space were the ones to carry the most momentum in Q2. According to Canalys Research Analyst Jash Shah, “Xiaomi, despite its overall sequential decline, actually grew its online business, primarily thanks to the Redmi Note 10 series.” “Realme also saw online momentum, particularly with its Narzo 30 series, as it used price cuts during ‘brand-focused days’ to overtake Oppo. Although Oppo’s direct online change.
