NEW DELHI: Smartphone shipment in the country is expected to decline by 10% in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic, according to Counterpoint Research. The January-March quarter saw smartphone shipment growing at modest 4% with over 31 million units.
The report said January and February shipment grew annually due to new launches and aggressive promotions, but a steep 19% decline in March - due to COVID-19 outbreak - restricted overall growth in the quarter to just 4%.
The government has imposed a nationwide lockdown till May 3 and "any signs of recovery will likely only start from the third quarter onwards", Counterpoint said.
"As a result, we are estimating that overall smartphone shipments will decline by 10% for the full calendar year," Counterpoint said. Indian smartphone market surpassed the US for the first time on an annual level with shipment of 158 million units in 2019, a growth 7% over the previous year.
Counterpoint added that the recent GST hike on mobile phones (from 12% to 18%) will also have an impact on margins and new launches of phone makers.
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