Top

Online Channel Shipments Share Reached Highest Ever in India in Q1 2019

  • Realme became the third largest player in the online segment with 11% market share.
  • Flipkart remains the leader in the online segment with a 53% share.
  • Amazon’s contribution reached its highest ever level in the online smartphone segment.
  • Redmi 6A was the best-selling device in the online segment in Q1 2019

New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires –

June 10th 2019

Smartphone Shipments from the online channel reached its highest ever share of 43% during Q1 2019, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. Online channel shipments grew 17% year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2019 driven by new launches, sales events, and lucrative offers rolled out during the quarter.

Commenting on the findings, Anshika Jain, Research Analyst stated, “Price cuts of popular devices and more launches drove online channel shipments to the highest ever level In Q1 2019. Xiaomi’s Redmi 6A, and Note 6 and 7 series, Samsung’s online exclusive M series, Realme 3, HONOR 10 Lite, and ASUS Zenfone Max Pro series were the major contributors for the growth of the online segment. The high online channel share indicates that the new e-commerce policy has limited impact, and e-commerce giants have found a way to cope.”

Brands took advantage of their strong online reach to get rid of their excess inventory, before the change in India’s e-commerce policy in February 2019. Along with this, offline channels were still holding inventory accumulated during the record festive season in the last quarter of 2018.

Commenting on the brand performance, Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, stated, “This quarter we have seen brands adopting a hybrid channel strategy to gain market share. Key brands like Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus have started expanding offline, which reduced some of the dependency of these brands on online channels. Meanwhile, Samsung, traditionally strong in offline channels, focused on expanding in the online market with its M series on Amazon.  Offline expansion is a key strategy for the growth of these players. Having said that we believe that the online channel will continue to hold significant importance in a price-conscious market like India.”

Exhibit 1: India Online Smartphone Market Share by Channel – Q1 2019

 

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q1 2019

 

Exhibit 2: India Online Smartphone Top Brands Share– Q1 2019

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q1 2019

Market Summary:

  • While the smartphone shipments in the offline segment declined by 4%, the online segment grew by 17% YoY
  • Xiaomi, Realme, ASUS, and Huawei contributed most for Flipkart and accounted for more than four-fifths of its total smartphone shipments. Flipkart Mobile Bonanza and Women’s Day Sale drove shipments of Xiaomi, Realme, and ASUS on its platform.
  • Though Flipkart led the overall online market with a 53% share, Amazon grew faster in Q1 2019 with 38% YoY growth. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, and OnePlus drove Amazon’s growth. Amazon witnessed high sales of Redmi 6A, Samsung’s online exclusive M series, and OnePlus 6T on its platform.
  • Amazon’s contribution reached its highest ever level in the online smartphone segment. Amazon’s contribution also reached its highest ever level in the online premium smartphone segment (>₹30,000 segment) with a share of 81% mainly due to sales of OnePlus, Samsung, and Apple.  Shipments from Flipkart contributed 17% of online smartphone premium segment in Q1 2019.
  • The top 5 brands captured 85% of the total online market.
  • Xiaomi alone captured around 43% of the total online market in Q1 2019. Its Redmi 6A, Redmi Note 6 Pro and Redmi Note 7 series drove volumes, contributing to almost two-thirds of Xiaomi’s total online sales.
  • Samsung adopted online flash sales strategy for the first time with Amazon on the Galaxy M10 and M20 models, increasing Samsung’s online share to 15% in Q1 2019 with 31% YoY growth in the online segment. The initial demand for M series was strong due to which Samsung’s online contribution within its portfolio reached its highest ever level.
  • Realme 3 made an entry into the top ten online models’ category driven by its aggressive specs and online promotions.
  • Six out of the top ten models were from Xiaomi. Redmi 6A was the best-selling device in Q1 2019. It received multiple price cuts on online channels during the quarter.
  • ₹15,000-₹20,000 was the fastest growing price segment in the online market in Q1 2019, driven by Xiaomi and Huawei. Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro was the best performing model in this price band followed by HONOR 10 Lite.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q1 2019 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at press@counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press inquiries. To access our latest research on smartphones, please visit our Research Portal.

The Market Monitor research is based on sell-in (shipments) estimates based on vendor’s IR results, vendor polling triangulated with sell-through (sales), supply chain checks and secondary research.

Analyst Contacts:

Tarun Pathak

Anshika Jain

Karn Chauhan


Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com        
 

Team Counterpoint

Counterpoint research is a young and fast growing research firm covering analysis of the tech industry. Coverage areas are connected devices, digital consumer goods, software & applications and other adjacent topics. We provide syndicated research reports as well as tailored. Our seminars and workshops for companies and institutions are popular and available on demand. Consulting and customized work on the above topics is provided for high precision projects.
Click here to see all posts by this author
List

Counterpoint Weekly Newsletter

Read Here
  • DEVICES
  • ECOSYSTEM
  • RECENT POSTS

Coverage

Insights

Social media

Contact us

Copyright ⓒ Counterpoint Technology Market Research | All rights reserved

Term of Use and Privacy Policy

Counterpoint Technology Market Research Limited

Registration

In order to access Counterpoint Technology Market Research Limited (Company or We hereafter) Web sites, you may be asked to complete a registration form. You are required to provide contact information which is used to enhance the user experience and determine whether you are a paid subscriber or not.
Personal Information When you register on we ask you for personal information. We use this information to provide you with the best advice and highest-quality service as well as with offers that we think are relevant to you. We may also contact you regarding a Web site problem or other customer service-related issues. We do not sell, share or rent personal information about you collected on Company Web sites.

How to unsubscribe and Termination

You may request to terminate your account or unsubscribe to any email subscriptions or mailing lists at any time. In accessing and using this Website, User agrees to comply with all applicable laws and agrees not to take any action that would compromise the security or viability of this Website. The Company may terminate User’s access to this Website at any time for any reason. The terms hereunder regarding Accuracy of Information and Third Party Rights shall survive termination.

Website Content and Copyright

This Website is the property of Counterpoint and is protected by international copyright law and conventions. We grant users the right to access and use the Website, so long as such use is for internal information purposes, and User does not alter, copy, disseminate, redistribute or republish any content or feature of this Website. User acknowledges that access to and use of this Website is subject to these TERMS OF USE and any expanded access or use must be approved in writing by the Company.
– Passwords are for user’s individual use
– Passwords may not be shared with others
– Users may not store documents in shared folders.
– Users may not redistribute documents to non-users unless otherwise stated in their contract terms.

Changes or Updates to the Website

The Company reserves the right to change, update or discontinue any aspect of this Website at any time without notice. Your continued use of the Website after any such change constitutes your agreement to these TERMS OF USE, as modified.
Accuracy of Information: While the information contained on this Website has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, We disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. User assumes sole responsibility for the use it makes of this Website to achieve his/her intended results.

Third Party Links: This Website may contain links to other third party websites, which are provided as additional resources for the convenience of Users. We do not endorse, sponsor or accept any responsibility for these third party websites, User agrees to direct any concerns relating to these third party websites to the relevant website administrator.

Cookies and Tracking

We may monitor how you use our Web sites. It is used solely for purposes of enabling us to provide you with a personalized Web site experience.
This data may also be used in the aggregate, to identify appropriate product offerings and subscription plans.
Cookies may be set in order to identify you and determine your access privileges. Cookies are simply identifiers. You have the ability to delete cookie files from your hard disk drive.