Indian smartphone sales hit zero in April, May too hot to handle

The prolonged shutdown in India has resulted in zero shipments for smartphone gamers in India in April as factories are closed and manufacturing units will take two to four weeks to resume normal operations once the closure relaxes. The month of March saw a sharp annual decline in smartphone shipments, down to -19 percent, due to the national COVID-19 blockade that was established as of March 24.

Since then, factories are closed, retail stores are closed, and online sellers are busy delivering groceries and other essentials. Result: April has seen almost zero sales. “We see zero activity in smartphone shipments in April and the closure now enters May amid uncertainties, the second quarter of 2020 will be a real challenge for smartphone manufacturers in the country,” Tarun Pathak told IANS, associate director of Counterpoint Research.

“We have been hearing some absolute essential sales that occurred behind the scenes during the blockade, but yes, it will be hundreds compared to the potential sales of 11-12 million smartphones that occur in a normal month,” added Pathak.

All smartphone brands, from Samsung to Xiaomi to Realme, discontinued manufacturing / assembly at their respective plants in the country almost from March 20 onward. At Realme, there has been a complete suspension of sales and manufacturing since the first 21-day shutdown was announced.

“According to government directives, our Greater Noida facility in Uttar Pradesh suspended operations from March 21, along with sales that stopped. We also postponed our Narzo series launch event and some Artificial Intelligence products from the Things (AIOT) that were scheduled for April, “Madhav Sheth, vice president of Realme and CEO of Realme India, told IANS.

“The greatest uncertainty comes from the demand side. If the nation’s economy and people’s incomes were hampered, then the demand for smartphones in 2020 may not be optimistic. We will have to further evaluate how the economy after the market reopened, “Sheth added.

In a mobile nation first, mobile is a crucial gateway that enables consumers to communicate, educate, retail, pay, and entertain. According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, during the crash, consumers with faulty phones were in a dilemma as they were unable to replace or repair it.

“Retailers lost in a window of more than five weeks with no sales. Once we move beyond the close, we will see a revival in retail strategies, with established social distance standards. Online channels will seek to attract consumers with discounts. to remove existing inventory, “Ram told IANS. “In the medium and long term, online to offline will emerge as a sustainable strategy, with consumers ordering online and fulfilling it at offline retail stores,” he added.

If the blockade persists through the month of May, while the staggered opening of the economy takes its sweet time, smartphone makers will have no choice but to cancel Q2 2020 from their roster, a major blow amid uncertainty over supply and demand that can last for several months, usurping the most important festival season.

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