News Article
IDC: Rapid growth In smartphones offsets weak feature phone revenues
India was one of the fastest growing countries worldwide in terms of smartphone adoption in 2013.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2013 the smartphone market surpassed forty four million units shipped, up from 16.2 million in 2012.
This surge has been mainly powered by home grown vendors which have shown a tremendous and consistent growth over the past 4 quarters of 2013. The overall phone market stood at close to 257 million units in CY 2013 - an 18 percent increase from 218 million units in CY 2012. CY 2013 also witnessed a migration of the user base from feature phones to smartphones primarily due to the narrowing price gaps between these product categories.
Q4 2013 Perspective
The India smartphone market grew by 181 percent year over year (YoY) in the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13). According to IDC's APEJ Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 15.06 million smartphones in 4Q13 compared to 5.35 million units in the same period of 2012. 4Q13 grew by almost 18 percent percent Quarter-on-Quarter.
The shipment contribution of 5.0inch - 6.99inch screen size smartphones (phablets) in 4Q13 was noted to be around 20 percent in the overall market. The category grew by 6 percent in 4Q13 in terms of sheer volume over 3Q13. The overall mobile phone market (Feature Phones and Smartphones) stood at 67.83 million units, a 16 percent growth YoY and a meager 2 percent growth quarter over quarter (QoQ).The share of feature phones slid further to make 78 percent of the total market in 4Q13, with the market showing a decline of 2 percent in 4Q13 over 3Q13.
The fourth quarter of 2013 witnessed a spike in the smartphone shipments by smaller homegrown vendors like LAVA, Intex which have shown tremendous growth in the past couple of quarters. "The growth in the smartphone market is being propelled by the launch of low-end, cost competitive devices by international and local vendors which are further narrowing the price gaps that exist between feature phones and smartphones," says Manasi Yadav, Senior Market Analyst with IDC India.
"The international vendors have understood the importance of creating a diverse portfolio of devices at varied price points and are striving to launch cost competitive devices that cater to every segment in the target audience " comments Kiran Kumar, Research Manager with IDC India.
Top Five Smartphone Vendor Highlights
Samsung: Samsung maintained its leadership spot with about 38 percent in terms of market share. Its smartphone shipments grew by close to 37 percent from 3Q13 to 4Q13. The fourth quarter saw quite a few new launches across price points by Samsung - however the low-end Galaxy portfolio in smartphones contribute to 50 percent in terms of shipment volumes Micromax: Micromax held on to its second spot with about 16 percent in terms of market share in 4Q13. Some of the top selling models were the entry level smartphones like A35 Bolt and A67. The Canvas range of devices has also done well in terms of volume contribution owing to the marketing campaigns launched around them.
Karbonn: The market share for Karbonn in 4Q13 was close to 10 percent, some of the top selling models for this brand were A1+ and A51.
Sony: Sony managed to make a comeback in the top-5 smartphone vendor list in 4Q13 and garnered a market share of 5 percent. The top selling models included Xperia M Dual and Xperia C handsets, which are targeted at mid-tier price range.
Lava: Lava managed to hold onto the number 5 spot in the top-5 smartphone vendor list. The continued traction around the XOLO and IRIS range of devices helped the vendor garner a market share of 4.7 percent in 4Q13. Some of the top selling models include the newly launched XOLO A500 S and the existing models like IRIS 402 and IRIS 349.
IDC India Forecast
IDC anticipates the growth in Smartphone segment to outpace the overall handset market growth for the foreseeable future. The end-user shift towards mid-to-high screen size products will be amplified by the declining prices and availability of feature-rich localized product offerings. Vendors who are able to differentiate their offerings at affordable prices will maintain a competitive edge and secure a strong position in the mobile phone market in CY 2014.
Companies covered in the report include Lava Gesellschaft fur Digitale, Sony Corporation, Intex, akciova spolecnost and Samsung.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2013 the smartphone market surpassed forty four million units shipped, up from 16.2 million in 2012.
This surge has been mainly powered by home grown vendors which have shown a tremendous and consistent growth over the past 4 quarters of 2013. The overall phone market stood at close to 257 million units in CY 2013 - an 18 percent increase from 218 million units in CY 2012. CY 2013 also witnessed a migration of the user base from feature phones to smartphones primarily due to the narrowing price gaps between these product categories.
Q4 2013 Perspective
The India smartphone market grew by 181 percent year over year (YoY) in the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13). According to IDC's APEJ Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 15.06 million smartphones in 4Q13 compared to 5.35 million units in the same period of 2012. 4Q13 grew by almost 18 percent percent Quarter-on-Quarter.
The shipment contribution of 5.0inch - 6.99inch screen size smartphones (phablets) in 4Q13 was noted to be around 20 percent in the overall market. The category grew by 6 percent in 4Q13 in terms of sheer volume over 3Q13. The overall mobile phone market (Feature Phones and Smartphones) stood at 67.83 million units, a 16 percent growth YoY and a meager 2 percent growth quarter over quarter (QoQ).The share of feature phones slid further to make 78 percent of the total market in 4Q13, with the market showing a decline of 2 percent in 4Q13 over 3Q13.
The fourth quarter of 2013 witnessed a spike in the smartphone shipments by smaller homegrown vendors like LAVA, Intex which have shown tremendous growth in the past couple of quarters. "The growth in the smartphone market is being propelled by the launch of low-end, cost competitive devices by international and local vendors which are further narrowing the price gaps that exist between feature phones and smartphones," says Manasi Yadav, Senior Market Analyst with IDC India.
"The international vendors have understood the importance of creating a diverse portfolio of devices at varied price points and are striving to launch cost competitive devices that cater to every segment in the target audience " comments Kiran Kumar, Research Manager with IDC India.
Top Five Smartphone Vendor Highlights
Samsung: Samsung maintained its leadership spot with about 38 percent in terms of market share. Its smartphone shipments grew by close to 37 percent from 3Q13 to 4Q13. The fourth quarter saw quite a few new launches across price points by Samsung - however the low-end Galaxy portfolio in smartphones contribute to 50 percent in terms of shipment volumes Micromax: Micromax held on to its second spot with about 16 percent in terms of market share in 4Q13. Some of the top selling models were the entry level smartphones like A35 Bolt and A67. The Canvas range of devices has also done well in terms of volume contribution owing to the marketing campaigns launched around them.
Karbonn: The market share for Karbonn in 4Q13 was close to 10 percent, some of the top selling models for this brand were A1+ and A51.
Sony: Sony managed to make a comeback in the top-5 smartphone vendor list in 4Q13 and garnered a market share of 5 percent. The top selling models included Xperia M Dual and Xperia C handsets, which are targeted at mid-tier price range.
Lava: Lava managed to hold onto the number 5 spot in the top-5 smartphone vendor list. The continued traction around the XOLO and IRIS range of devices helped the vendor garner a market share of 4.7 percent in 4Q13. Some of the top selling models include the newly launched XOLO A500 S and the existing models like IRIS 402 and IRIS 349.
IDC India Forecast
IDC anticipates the growth in Smartphone segment to outpace the overall handset market growth for the foreseeable future. The end-user shift towards mid-to-high screen size products will be amplified by the declining prices and availability of feature-rich localized product offerings. Vendors who are able to differentiate their offerings at affordable prices will maintain a competitive edge and secure a strong position in the mobile phone market in CY 2014.
Companies covered in the report include Lava Gesellschaft fur Digitale, Sony Corporation, Intex, akciova spolecnost and Samsung.
