Consumers have increased demand for premium smartphones as well as increased their trust in online retail channels, according to GfK, a market and consumer intelligence agency. GfK market intelligence studied the overall growth in smartphone sales, price segments along geographical market penetration from January 2021 to October 2021.

According to GfK market intelligence, overall category sales in terms of units for offline retail (point-of-sales) grew by 4 per cent whereas online retail sales grew by 29 per cent during October 2021 compared to 2020. During the same period, online channel contribution for the smartphone market accounted for 40 per cent in terms of sales units and 41 per cent in terms of sales value in comparison to 35 per cent in 2020. This reflects the rising consumer trust and digitalization of purchase journeys fuelling the online retail contribution to overall category sales of smartphones.Price trendsLooking at the price trends, GfK Market Intelligence point-of-sales data outlined an increase of sales units by 56 per cent for premium smartphones ranging between ₹30,000-40,000. Sales also went up for smartphones priced above ₹40,000 by 41per cent, which underlines the increasing demand for premium products in the Indian smartphone market.

Kartik Vasudevan, Director – Sales, GfK India, said “As markets have moved from ‘want’ to ‘need’ norm, it is not only about the product/ device but consumer ‘Lifestyle’. Consumers turned to tech while staying at home and this has triggered some structural shift in buying behaviour. As the at home norm continues, consumers are keen to invest in products which promise quality and longevity.”

GfK insights also reveal the geographical penetration of the smartphone market. The overall sales for smartphones in tier 5 & above representing less than 50,000 in population registered 11 per cent volume growth in offline retail during October 2021 as against in 2020, followed by a 7 per cent increase in tier 3 cities.

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