A new report from Counterpoint Research states that OnePlus beat Samsung to lead the premium smartphone market in India for the first time ever for a full quarter. This makes the company the leader of the Indian premium smartphone segment, and what’s remarkable here is the amount of time it took for OnePlus to achieve this. OnePlus entered the Indian smartphone market in December 2014, and in less than four years, the company now leads the premium segment.
According to Counterpoint Research’s latest analysis on the Indian smartphone market, the premium smartphone segment (₹30,000 and above) grew 19 percent annually and 10 percent sequentially during Q2 2018. This was because more consumers upgraded to 2018 flagship smartphones launched by different Android device makers in India. The increase in demand in the premium segment was driven by increasing offers around the new launches as compared to a year ago, with offers ranging from cashbacks, data-bundling, exchange offers, and more to reduce the affordability gap.
The strong sales of the OnePlus 6 led OnePlus to surpass Samsung to lead the premium smartphone segment in India in Q2 2018. Counterpoint noted that India remains an important market for OnePlus, contributing to almost a third of its global revenue. The user base of the company has been growing with every flagship, and this has now started into record sales for every new flagship launch. OnePlus is benefiting from strong word of mouth marketing, and the company is also leveraging social media effectively to reach out to its target user base.
Samsung captured over a third of the total premium smartphone market in Q2, and promotions for the Samsung Galaxy S9 series remained strong. On the other hand, Apple had a weak Q2 as demand for the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X began to taper off due to seasonality and challenges in terms of pricing after the increase in custom duty. Apple is said to be streamlining its channel structure as it gears up for the second half of the year.
While the premium market grew but the demand is being skewed towards sub-INR40,000 devices due to aggressive offering such as OnePlus and that through online segment. This is a new trend where “affordable ultra-premium” is wooing aspiring rich and young consumers away from more expensive offerings from likes of Samsung and Apple. With likes of OPPO, Huawei, vivo and Google looking to be aggressive in INR40,000-60,000 segment in coming quarters, pressure on likes of Apple and Samsung will be even higher.
The top three brands Samsung, OnePlus and Apple contributed to 88% of the overall premium market as compared to 95% a quarter ago.
This is due to the entry of new players in the segment led by Huawei (P20), Vivo (X21), Nokia HMD (Nokia 8 Sirocco) and LG (V30 Plus)
OnePlus led the premium smartphone segment for the first time ever in India, capturing 40% of the market driven by record shipments of its OnePlus 6 as compared to its previous flagships.
OnePlus was also the fastest growing brand in the premium segment (+446%) while shipments for Apple and Samsung declined YoY.
OnePlus is now increasing its points of sale by launching its offline and exclusive stores across key cities. This will enable the brand to reach out to a larger user base going forward, as the premium segment market is estimated to grow faster than the overall smartphone market in India for CY 2018 and beyond.
Samsung captured 34% share of the premium segment. Its shipments declined 25% YoY due to decline in shipments of S9 as compared to S8 last year. However, the promotions related to S9 series remain strong which helped to push sales in both offline as well as online channels during end of the quarter to streamline the inventory levels.
Apple’s share in the premium segment reached its lowest ever 14% due to decline in shipments for its iPhone 8 and X series. Additionally, the increase in import duty and absence of local manufacturing impacted its pricing strategy in India. Apple is also looking to streamline its channel structure in India.
Cashback and EMI offers continue to remain the major promotional activities leveraged by brands in the premium segment, with cashback being used by 8 out of 10 models in the premium segment in the online channel.
In terms of best selling models, OnePlus 6 was the best-selling model in premium segment followed by S9 Plus and OnePlus 5T. OnePlus 5T sales were due to the push by the brand during first half of Q2 2018, clearing off inventory in anticipation of OnePlus 6. However, OnePlus 5T went end of life post OnePlus 6 launch.
S9 series sales remain skewed in favour of S9 plus as users didn’t mind spending extra for the upgrade to a larger screen.
Source: Counterpoint
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