NEW DELHI: Apple sold nearly 1.5 million iPhone units during the first week of festive sales (October 8-15) in India, according to a Counterpoint Research study. The festival season, which started on October 8, 2023, witnessed growth both in terms of value and volume during the first week, driven by strong demand for Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi devices.
“Like in 2022, Apple enjoyed high demand with its sales crossing 1.5 million units and registering more than 25% year-on-year (YoY) growth. This year, iPhone 14, iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 experienced high demand, unlike a year ago when the iPhone 13 was the major driver,” reads the report.
As per the counterpoint, online channels, which experienced slow demand throughout the year, registered a bigger-than-expected surge in demand, prompting them to raise prices from the third day of the sales week. Both Flipkart and Amazon rolled out their respective sales with lucrative offers that included heavy price discounts, higher trade-in values and attractive bundling offers. In the sale, the premium segment witnessed significant growth in both platforms.
“On Flipkart, the premium segment growth was almost 50% Year-on-Year (YoY) driven by the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S21 FE, while on Amazon the segment growth was almost 200% YoY driven by the iPhone 13 and Galaxy S23 FE,” said the report.
5G smartphones experienced phenomenal growth with about 80% of phones sold on both channels being 5G enabled. The Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 price segment witnessed faster 5G upgrades as OEMs launched many devices ahead of the festive season.