Amazon India’s smartphone business grew 30% in 2021, nearly double that of 2020, driven by customers in small towns who are choosing premium smartphones above Rs 20,000, a top company official said.
Signalling changing consumer trends post-pandemic, Nishant Sardana, category leader, smartphones and accessories at the eCommerce major, told ET that the growth in units in 2021 was led by mid-premium smartphones in the Rs 20,000-30,000 and Rs 30,000-Rs 50,000 segment, which saw more than 50% on-year growth, driven by the post-Covid requirement for high-performance smartphones.
“Over the last year, we have seen customers gravitate towards smartphones which are ideal for multitasking, which can manage work, entertainment, and day-to-day use cases as well,” Sardana said. He added that customers are opting for performance-centric smartphones with a better processor and larger RAM.
“Display-size, refresh rates will continue to be an ongoing battle,” he said.
Speaking about the smartphone market’s premiumization trend, Sardana said the install base of approximately 50-60 million smartphones in the price band of Rs 5,000-10,000 bought in the past 3-4 years now want a better experience.
Amazon India is also seeing an uptick in 5G smartphones since 2021, thanks to growing awareness about the next-gen networks, with the marketplace adding a special section of 5G smartphones to cater to the demand.
Recently, the marketplace has come up with the Amazon Inspire program, an information hub containing reviews, unboxing videos, and other product-related content, that goes live on the first day of the sale.