Smartphones have been one of the fastest-growing categories on Amazon, but do you know which segments (flagship, mid-range or budget) have seen the most growth in the last one year? How is demand from tier-II cities and towns compared to the metros? How has customer behaviour changed since the pandemic’s onset? The answers to such queries are best answered by the man in the hot seat: Nishant Sardana, director – Mobile Phones & Televisions, Amazon India.

The platform offers a varied selection from all the top brands across price points. He says, “with our constant focus on catering to our customers in the best possible way, we have delivered smartphones to more than half a million customers within 12 hours (on average) of purchase and witnessed 96.5% delivery promise on our platform, as per Amazon data ended December, 2021. We have built a strong operations infrastructure which helps us deliver to customers in the remotest regions of India.”

Sardana reveals that over the last year, Amazon has seen close to 30% growth in the smartphones category, with sales being driven by  not just tier-I cities but tier-II and III too. More customers are choosing mid-range and premium devices with better build quality and specs as they continue to spend more time on their smartphones (work-from-home, video calls, OTT content or playing online games). “We have seen customers gravitate towards devices which are ideal for multitasking and can manage work, entertainment and day-to-day use cases as well. The growth in units last year was led by the 20K-30K and 30-50K price segments which saw 52% and 61% y-o-y growth,  respectively. This was owing to the post-Covid requirement for high-performance smartphones,” he says, adding, “the Redmi Note series, OnePlus, Samsung M series, iQOO and Tecno smartphones drove growth in new customers as well as upgradation to the latest technology.”

Amazon has witnessed strong growth in the mid-range (>20K+) category as more customers upgraded to a mobile device with better build quality and performance. Sardana points out that amongst the brands on Amazon.in, OnePlus is the fastest growing, with the expansion of the OnePlus Nord series in the <25K price segment with the launch of the OnePlus Nord CE being popular. “In 2022, we expect the category to grow even more due to the rollout of the 5G segment, with major brands coming up with new models and launches .”

While the pandemic accelerated technology adoption, leading to a structural shift in online shopping behaviour, the Amazon India senior executive reveals that higher online grocery ordering, content consumption on OTT platforms, online payments, and gaming are making many customers opt for more premium devices. “Smartphones with a stronger processor and good memory space, a powerful battery, larger screen size with super-smooth AMOLED displays are being preferred the most. We are also seeing customers choose 5G-ready smartphones as awareness of the impending launch of 5G grows,” he adds.
Amazon India has witnessed strong demand from tier-II cities and smaller towns as the e-commerce major’s delivery and fulfillment networks have been expanded for faster delivery. “Three out of four smartphones that are sold on Amazon.in are being purchased by customers from tier-II cities and towns. Customers living even in remote parts of the country are trusting us with safe and reliable deliveries. In fact, more than half of the smartphone orders on Amazon.in are from tier-III or smaller cities,” he adds.

BUILDING TRUST

• Amazon seeing strong growth in mid-range (>20K+) smartphone category
• Redmi Note series, OnePlus, Samsung M series, iQOO, Tecno smartphones driving growth in new customers
• Three out of four phones sold being picked up by customers from tier-II cities and towns
• Growth in sales led by the 20K-30K and 30-50K segments, which have seen 52% and 61% y-o-y growth, respectively
• 5G-ready phones remain high on the purchase list
• OnePlus the fastest growing brand in <25K segment, with OnePlus Nord CE being popular