India witnessed highest ever online smartphone shipments in Q3 2019: Report

As per the Counterpoint study, India witnessed the highest ever online smartphone shipments during Q3 2019. Online channels including Flipkart and Amazon together sold 46 per cent of smartphones. Smartphone shipments grew 55 per cent year-over-year in the September-ending quarter. Such a major uptick in terms of the number of online smartphone shipments was primarily driven by launches coinciding with annual festive sales on Amazon and Flipkart. Both Flipkart and Amazon reached their highest ever quarterly smartphone shipments.

Decoding the study

-- While Flipkart captured 57 per cent of total smartphone shipments share, Amazon generated 33 per cent of total smartphones sale. Amazon also grew 75 per cent year-over-year (YoY).

-- Realme and Xiaomi were the best-selling brands on Flipkart while Xiaomi, Samsung and OnePlus were the best-selling ones on Amazon.

-- In terms of brands, Xiaomi retained the top spot with 38 per cent of the share, courtesy of Redmi 7A, Note 7 Pro and Note 7S models.

-- Festive offers significantly brought down the entry-level price-point of Xiaomi Redmi series to Rs 5,000 leading to a strong uptick on Amazon.

-- Realme's online shipments hit a record high with more than 4.5-times year-over-year growth.

-- Samsung also captured its share in the online segment driven, courtesy of Galaxy M30s model on Amazon.

-- Vivo became the number four player in the online segment for the first time ever, courtesy of Vivo U10, Z1X, and Z1 Pro models.

-- Online shipments in the premium segment reached a record high with 79% YoY growth.

-- OnePlus emerged strongly on Amazon and remained the best-selling in the online premium segment.

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According to research firm CMR, Realme along with OnePlus, Vivo and Oppo had a combined market share of 42 per cent in India's smartphone market between July - September 2019. While Xiaomi remains the market leader, with one in four users purchasing a Xiaomi smartphone (26 per cent share), CMR said.

During the Q3 2019, India's smartphone market saw an 8 per cent increase in terms of sale. CMR said that 8 out of 9 smartphones shipped in India were sold by the top five smartphone vendors during the stipulated period.