India’s smartphone market grows 3% y-o-y in July-Sep
India’s smartphone market grows 3% y-o-y in July-Sep

India’s smartphone market grew 3 per cent year-on-year in the July-September period, reaching 48.4 million units shipped, as Apple posted its highest-ever shipments in the country in Q3, securing 10 per cent share, a new report showed on Tuesday.
According to global research firm Omdia, vendors filled the channels with new stocks in expectation of a high-demand festive period. The modest growth was driven by a wave of new launches in July and August, retail incentivisation and an earlier festive season that pulled forward inventory flows. “With limited organic demand, Q3’s momentum was largely sustained through incentive-led channel push rather than pure consumer recovery,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Omdia.
Vendors reallocated marketing budgets to high-impact retail incentive programs that rewarded sell-through, ranging from cash-per-unit bonuses to tiered margins and dealer contests with rewards such as gold coins, bikes, and international trips.
“These incentives motivated distributors and retailers to absorb higher inventory ahead of the festive season. At the same time, vendors intensified consumer-facing schemes – from zero-down-payment EMIs, micro-instalment plans, bundled accessories and extended warranties – to drive conversions,” Chaurasia added.