Smartphones Lead The Way As Electronic Devices Sale Soar During Festive Season

Indian festivals are celebrated on a grand scale, often providing a compelling incentive to indulge in new purchases. This festive fervour gives rise to a competitive market atmosphere in terms of sales, replete with discounts and new product offerings. One category that races to the forefront during the festive season is electronic devices.

Online shopping platform Meesho has reported that about 80 per cent of orders came from Tier 2+ cities in India, such as Dhanbad, Chittorgarh, Erode, Jabalpur, Kurnool, Tezpur and Vapi, during the festive sales period. Among the most sought-after items on the platform were smartwatches, Bluetooth devices and headphones.

A similar surge was observed on the ecommerce platform Amazon where its prime consumers purchased more than 75 smartphones per second in the first hour of ‘The Great Indian Festival Sale’. The online giant found that four out of every five smartphones sold in the first 48 hours were 5G-ready. The platform underlined that amongst all smartphones sold, 75 per cent were purchased by customers coming from Tier 2-3 cities, towns and beyond.

Furthermore, Amazon reported that premium smartphones (priced at over Rs 30,000) witnessed a three-fold growth as compared to last year. This was driven by easy affordability options such as ‘No Cost EMI’ and attractive ‘Exchange offers’.

Embracing consumer electronics choices, Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO of Snapdeal, said “Our platform saw a gush in wearables like earphones, headphones and smartwatches in electronics that highlights the tech-savvy nature of shoppers beyond metros.” He noted that there was a noticeable spike in lighting and decorative items which showcased the spirit of festivity.

Mobile - Consumer’s Top Festive Choice

For Amazon - OnePlus, Samsung and Apple were the consumer's popular brand choices with OnePlus smartphones topping the chart with the sale of 100 devices every minute in the first 48 hours of the sale (2.5 times more than in 2022). Samsung also drove premium phone demand with its flagship ‘Galaxy S Series’ sales growing three times over the last year.

On similar lines, Flipkart saw its premium smartphone segment grow 1.7 times over its last year’s ‘The Big Billion Days 2022’.

Compared to the last festive season, Flipkart’s recommerce business saw a 42 per cent rise in the adoption of product exchanges option, with mobiles seeing a notable 50 per cent increase in exchange-led purchases. The platform observed 1.5 times growth in customers opting for mobiles exchange via the product exchange programme and 2.6 times growth was seen in customers availing No-Cost EMI, compared to 2022.

According to Counterpoint Research data, the first week of festive sales in India has seen iPhone sales surge past 1.5 million units. This marks over 25 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth. The festive smartphone sales were primarily driven by robust demand for devices from tech giants like Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi.

The Local Players' Festive Ride

Rohit Nandwani, founder and COO of Hammer said, “80 per cent of our sales resulted from the tech-incubated demographic and smartwatches emerged as the most sought-after electronic device during festivals. This trend has seen a surge of over 10 per cent, compared to the last fiscal year, demonstrating an orchestrated pull for smartwatches in the market, across demographics.”

In the previous festive season, Nandwani said HAMMER achieved a significant milestone by selling over 50,000 units of electronic devices. This year, the company experienced an 8 per cent growth, which significantly contributed to its projected earnings of Rs 60 crore, marking 2023 as a prosperous year both in terms of sales numbers and profits.

He stressed that consumer buying patterns have shown a preference for convenience and affordability. Among D2C customers, 70 per cent reportedly preferred to initiate EMIs, 20 per cent opted for cash / digital payments and 10 per cent chose credit for payments. 

Arjun Bajaj, Director of Videotex said this festive season, the company observed a substantial surge in the demand for smart TVs. Both consumers and brands are showing a strong inclination towards premium products and certified smart TV solutions with advanced operating systems such as webOS TV and Google TV. 

Interestingly, while 32-inch TVs were traditionally the most sought-after, their demand has decreased, with consumers now favouring larger sizes in 4K. “We have seen a 15 to 20 per cent growth in demand for TVs in 43- and 55-inch and above categories, respectively.” 

Shedding more light on consumer buying patterns, Saket Gaurav, Chairman & Managing Director of Elista said customers in India have diverse preferences, with an increasing number opting for easy EMI (Equated Monthly Installments) options. As digitalisation gains momentum, there's a noticeable shift towards digital payments, reflecting the convenience and security on offer. “This aligns with the government's push for a digital economy, making cash transactions less common during the festive season.”

Echoing on this Lalit Arora, Co-founder, UBON said, "The consumer buying pattern during festivals often includes a mix of both EMI and full payments. Many consumers opt for EMI plans to spread the cost of expensive electronic devices over several months. However, during festival sales, discounts on full payments are also prevalent, attracting customers who can afford to pay in full. While EMI payments are prominently used in online shopping mode, one-time payments are made by customers who offer to pay in cash or via UPI mode."