Riding on the positive festive season sentiments, Smart TVs to show record sales of around 11-14 Mn, double than CY2020. Smartphones to continue being the largest contributor of Connected Devices in India.

Announcing the 2nd edition of the India Connected Consumer Devices Report, Techarc today said that Indians are expected to buy connected devices worth ₹ 3,12,689 crore in 2021.

Faisal Kawoosa, Founder and Chief Analyst Techarc said, “The market as well as consumers are upbeat about the festival season which is around the corner.  While the concerns of supply still hover over, it is expected that certain categories of smart devices will see record sales due to long term impact of hybrid working models, attractive offers and hybrid channel structure.”

“Brands including Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme and OnePlus are frontrunner ‘Tech-Style’ brands ready to leverage the most from the consumer sentiments of living a smart life powered by technology,” added Faisal.

Key Insights of the report:

Smartphones

• Smartphones will continue to contribute significantly to the sales of connected devices in both value and volume this year, with growth projected to be around 12-15 percent volume wise. 

• Owing to the increase in penetration of smartphones in the tier II cities and beyond because of the shift in trends such as work from hometown, Techarc expects the Basic segment of smartphones (Rs 6,000-12,000) to contribute to the range of 45-50% of total smartphone sales for the year.  This will be fueled by growth in Tier II markets and beyond. In the metros and major cities/towns sales will contribute primarily from upgrades and replacements in the sweet-segment of Mid (Rs 12,001 – 25,000). Owing to this, Mid segment will register the highest growth in 20-22% for 2021 calendar year.

Smart Wearables

• In the smart wearable’s category Techarc expects Rs 5,000-10,000 price segment to witness growth of 12% owing to increasing trend of adoption of these devices in the mass market segment. Other than elating the trendy positioning, it also addresses the increasing focus on health and lifestyle with several monitoring and tracking features in these devices on arms.

• Techarc Wax-Wane suggests features like SpO2, stress measurement, female health tracking among key additions in the mass segment in the upcoming launches of smart watches for the year.

Laptops and Tablet PCs

• With education going online, increase in work from home and work from anywhere culture Rs 30,000-50,000 is emerging as a sweet spot for Laptops for educational purposes due to which it is expected to contribute around 50% of the laptop sales in 2021. This market is further gaining traction from the gaming community thus presenting a window of growth in the price range of Rs 50,000-80,000.
• In the Tablet category of smart devices, Rs 5,000-10,000 is expected to contribute majority of the sales.
• Both the segments are becoming interesting with new entrants foraying in these categories primarily graduating from smartphone ecosystem.

Smart TVs

• The increase in video consumption among users has given a boost to OTT platforms to increase their revenue share which in turn translates into an opportunity for Smart TV vendors to enhance their presence and increase their market share in the Rs 15,000-30,000 segment. With more and more brands coming up with affordable smart TVs to cater to the wider segment of audience, we expect a growth in the Rs 15,000-20,000 price bracket as a key trend for the year.  The exponential growth in fibre broadband connections with bundled services is also leading to this growth.  However, in certain markets of Tier II and beyond, Smart STBs are cannibalising the opportunity which lets consumers connect the existing TVs without upgrading them to a smart TV.

Smart Speakers

• Smart Speakers will continue to register growth in sales for this year as well.  Consumers will continue to explore these devices and figure out their own use cases ranging from fun & entertainment to acting as virtual assistants.  The increase in home broadband connections due to the requirement of having a stable and reliable connectivity at homes after pandemic surfaced is making more and more homes a potential nest for smart speakers.

Gaming Consoles

• Console based gaming will continue to remain a duopoly with a shrinking opportunity.  Smartphone and laptop OEMs along with the help of ecosystem which includes chipset companies, graphics companies and audio companies, are focusing for optimal gaming experience which is reducing the need for a gaming console.  At the same time cloud gaming is also becoming popular and improved connectivity is aiding gamers to start relying on this new delivery mode which democratizes the gaming world.

Adding more to the insights Amit Sharma, Senior Analyst Techarc said, “The customer preferences will be permeable in the upcoming festive season, and it will be kind of ‘survival of the fittest’ in the market.  With increasing supply-chain disruptions customers will go for the brands which will be able to deliver just-in-time.  This means brands owning a larger portion of supply chain or having significant control on it will gain the most.  For instance, Samsung which produces several of key components by itself.”

“This year festive season is expected to see demand from non-metros benefiting brands focusing on these regions significantly.  Additionally, resumption of offices and educational institutions will have a positive impact on sales in the metros. We may also see some activity triggering due to revenge buying driving sales for mid to luxe category smart devices,” Amit Sharma said.

About India Connected Consumer Market Scan Dashboard

The connected consumer market scan dashboard is a data-rich insightful and interactive report with all analyses based on accurate data and market information.

For more information, click on the link below.