India witnessed more than 1.5 million units of iPhone models being sold during the first week of festive sales for the first time ever, registering more than 25 per cent growth (year-on-year), Counterpoint Research's report said on Friday. Indians spent the most on the premium segment as it saw a significant growth across e-commerce platforms Amazon.in as well as Flipkart. On Flipkart, the premium segment of smartphones' growth was almost 50 per cent YoY, driven by the iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Similar to last year, Apple witnessed high demand during festive season with its sales crossing 1.5 million units and registering more than 25 per cent YoY growth. This year, the iPhone 14, iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 experienced high demand, unlike a year ago when the iPhone 13 was the major driver. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE also witnessed strong sales. The model was sold out after two days of the sale on Flipkart, the Counterpoint Research report added.
"We are witnessing strong demand for premium devices even after the first week of sales, driven by the availability of many financing and credit schemes, including per-day EMIs. The strong demand has set a cheerful mood for the festive season and we believe the strong consumer sentiment will continue in offline sales as well due to parity between offline and online discounts," the research firm said in a statement.
"Overall, we believe the festive season smartphone sales this year will grow 7 per cent YoY in terms of volumes while the average selling price (ASP) will grow 15 per cent YoY."
It should be noted that both Flipkart and Amazon.in announced their sales days earlier this month, The Big Billion Days and The Great Indian Festival, with lucrative offers that included heavy price discounts, higher trade-in values and attractive bundle offers. Apart from offers on the existing portfolio, both platforms also launched some ultra-premium smartphones, including the Google Pixel 8 series, Samsung Galaxy S23 FE and Oppo Find N3 Flip.