According to a latest report, Indian mobile sales have dropped for the first time in 20 years. Mobile (feature phones and smartphones combined) sales dropped 14.5 percent the first quarter (Q1, January-March) 2015, on a quarter-to-quarter basis, compared to Q4 (October-December) 2014. Sales fell from 62 million handsets in Q4 2014 to 53 million handsets in Q1 2015, according to a report of CyberMedia Research, a consultancy.
The decline in smartphone sales from quarter-to-quarter was 7.14 percent. Cheaper feature phones performed worse, with an 18.3 percent sales decline over the same period. India became the fastest-growing market for smartphones in Asia-Pacific in 2014, and is supposed to overtake US as the second-largest smartphone market globally, with 204 million smartphone users by 2016, according to a study by eMarketer, a research firm.
“With major announcements of new handsets and entry of some new brands happening in a big way in Q4 2014, there wasn’t really something very exciting in the market for customers that could push up sales in Q1 2015,” said Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst, Telecom Research at CyberMedia.
According to the Experts, there were two more reasons behind the decline: First, sales have fluctuated for vendors, with one vendor dominant in one-quarter and another in the next. Second, as Kawoosa put it, “a maniacal focus” on online flash sales.
“Though there is an Internet revolution in India and brands do need to focus on building their online base, it only works well for new brands (for example, Xiaomi) willing to enter the Indian market,” said Kawoosa.
“Established brands, such as Micromax and Samsung, should focus on their existing legacy. The differentiating strength of these brands lies in their distribution network, built and invested in over the years across India, which they should leverage to increase sales.”
Source- IANS
