According to mobile phone stores, there has been a drop in the sale of premium smartphones, of late. Read on to know more about this.
Premium smartphones have been a hit since many years now, especially with people being ready to churn out big chunks of money just to get their hands on all that premium-ness and never-seen-before features offered by them. Add to this, the big offers and easy EMI schemes offered on Credit Cards and instant consumer loans, people across the country didn’t have to think twice before they made the purchase.
Although such was the case till recent times, it’s now being noticed that premium smartphones aren’t any longer selling like hotcakes. People are no longer upgrading to newer premium devices like they used to before. According to a market tracker based out of Hong Kong, Counterpoint Research, Indian consumers are now retaining their premium smartphones (priced above Rs. 40k) for an average of 40 months. Earlier the retention time used to be anywhere between 12 to 18 months only.
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So, what’s the case today?
According to mobile phone stores, there has been a drop in the sale of premium smartphones, of late. Although, the hype is still much whenever a premium smartphone (costing 30K+) is launched, however, this just lasts for like two to three months. And, despite the hype surrounding the launches, only a small portion of people, those with enough and more disposable income, are purchasing these smartphones. However, although premium phone sales may have hit a slump, it doesn’t mean the sales are on a down trend. It is, we could say, stagnant; it’s kind of in a hibernation phase.
On the other hand, mobile stores are seeing more sales in the below 30k segment. There are many reasons that attribute to this change in trend. Let’s get to discussing it, shall we?
Reasons behind the sales slowdown
While we could give you several reasons for the stagnant state of premium smartphone sales and the rise of the below 30k segment, here are the top three that everyone’s been talking about.
The lack of innovation
Yes, that’s right. Unlike earlier times, when premium smartphone sellers used to offer innovative features with every new premium phone they launched, today we see a lack in creativity as well as innovation. These days, premium smartphones get launched almost every six months and they have nothing more than just a few minor tweaks from their older siblings to offer. So, for most consumers, it doesn’t make sense to shell out a premium for nothing.
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No differentiation
If you look at the smartphone market today, you’ll easily notice that the phones that are priced below 30K offer similar features that a premium smartphone priced above 40k offers. Clearly, there isn’t any differentiation and, therefore, people are hesitant to invest a large chunk of their income in a premium phone when they can enjoy the same features (if not more) at a much lower cost. Sounds logical, right?
The extra bucks
Another factor that played a huge role in slamming premium phone sales is import duty. India is currently one of the highest priced markets for imported smartphones, thanks to the imposition of 20% import duty. Now you know why we, Indians, have to shell out about a lakh to own an Apple device!
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Also, with players like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, etc. targeting the below 30k market and launching multiple smartphones that boast features similar to premium handsets, it is becoming more and more difficult for premium players to regain its popularity. The competition is so high that premium sellers had to take upon different promotional activities to increase their sales. Players like Apple, OnePlus and Google have started offering great discounts on their models. Apple even slashed the price of their so-called economical offering, the iPhone XR, recently. Drastic measures, we say!
Can you expect things to change in the future?
Well, it isn’t easy to predict the future as far as technology is concerned. Mainly due its dynamic nature; it’s ever constantly changing. However, looking at emerging trends such as 5G and design changes like the foldable smartphone launched by Samsung recently, we can expect things to change for premium players. Probably they’ll be able to snatch their market share back. But, honestly speaking, it’s a battle ahead. And, unless they up their game, they aren’t going to win the war.
Additional Reading: The Future Of Smartphones: The Samsung Galaxy Fold Is Here!
On that note, if you’ve been looking to change your smartphone but have been financially crippled, we’ve got a solution for you. It’s called a Credit Card. Get yours now and enjoy the convenience of EMIs on all your big purchases. Psst… your application gets approved in just 24 hours, so you don’t have to wait too long!