Samsung leads smartphone market in India due to anti-China sentiments

New Delhi: South Korean company Samsung has benefited from the discontent in the Indian population following the act of Chinese betrayal in the Galwan Valley. In the third quarter of 2020, there has been an increase of 32% in the sales of Samsung smartphones. For the first time, after two years, Samsung has emerged as the highest-selling smartphone brand in India, surpassing Xiaomi.

Massive discontent is brewing in the country against China since the last few months. There have mostly been online sales of smartphones in the country during the Coronavirus pandemic. Samsung has the highest, 24% share, out of this. Xiaomi is in second place with 23% share in the Indian smartphone market. At the same time, Vivo has 16%, Realme has 15%, and Oppo has a 10% share in the market.

As per the report published by ‘Counterpoint Research’, compared to the first quarter of the year, the share of Chinese smartphone brands has declined from 81% to 72%. At the same time, the export of smartphones from the country has recorded an annualised increase of 9% for the July-September quarter. India has exported 53 million smartphones in this period, and this is the first instance of such a massive export of smartphones in a quarter from India.

The Indian smartphone market has once again gained momentum, following the relaxation of lockdown. There was a huge demand, noted around Independence Day, in August. This was due to massive sales through online platforms. Since the last few years, Samsung was leading the Indian smartphone market. But Xiaomi, offering low-cost smartphones, gained popularity in the Indian market in the previous few years. The company led the Indian smartphone market for two successive years, surpassing Samsung.

The company took substantial efforts to reach customers through online platforms. But Samsung seems to have taken advantage of the public opinion against China and with attractive offers. At the same time, Boycott Xiaomi campaign was triggered as Arunachal Pradesh is not shown as a part of India in the Xiaomi weather app. This could deliver a strong jolt to the company.