Online smartphone sales cross offline numbers for first time ever in 2022

Several smartphone companies offered online-exclusive deals and discounts helping the e-commerce companies to sell more

The sale of smartphones through online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart overtook sales through offline retailers for the first time in 2022, a report in the Economic Times (ET) said. This was the first time when channels of sales were operating at their normal capacity since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The offline channels were impacted due to the tepid consumer demand. In 2022, the shipments to retail stores fell 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY). On the other hand, the shipments to online channels fell 6 per cent YoY but accounted for a market share of 53 per cent, the report added citing data from IDC India.

Moreover, several companies offered online-exclusive deals and discounts helping the e-commerce companies to sell more. Smartphone brands like Oppo, Vivo and Samsung even launched new models exclusively for online purchases. 

The pandemic also helped online players grab more market share. "There was a nudge of 5-10 per cent share in favour of online after the pandemic after consumers struggled to purchase new smartphones from offline channels due to a lack of options and higher prices," Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC India told ET. 

However, the offline market is expected to bounce back and regain its leadership. 

Prachir Singh, a research analyst at Counterpoint Research told ET that in 2023, the share of the online channel in the total sales will fall to 47 per cent in 2023. Some experts said that Redmi and Realme are aiming for a "renewed push" and it will help the offline stores maintain their sales. These two brands account for 35-40 per cent of offline sales. 

Also, the expenditure by companies on outdoor marketing is expected to go up this year.