New Delhi: Data on online smartphone shopping has shown that Indians bought 17 lakh more Chinese devices this October than they did last year. This despite calls to boycott Chinese products and support ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ amid the ongoing tensions between India and China at the Line of Actual Control and the Indian government banning over 200 Chinese apps.
Tech market analyst firm IDC, that looked at both the online and offline sales figures, said: “… India’s smartphone market registered a massive year-over-year (YoY) growth of 42% in October, shipping 21 million units. The growth was driven by multiple online sale festivals and continuing pent up demand from 3Q20.”
An executive at a leading smartphone market analyst firm, who requested anonymity, shared estimates for how many phones the top fives mobile brands in India sold online during October 2019 and October 2020.
Of these, four are Chinese — Xiaomi, Vivo, realme and Oppo.In October 2019, these Chinese brands sold an estimated 46.07 lakh smartphones. Fast forward a year, and the sales jumped by nearly 17 lakh to 63.01 lakh smartphones.These numbers were calculated based on the figures shared by the smartphone market analyst.
The estimates show that consumer trends didn’t take a hit from the boycott calls that emerged in June after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash with Chinese soldiers. Among those supporting the boycott was Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. In June, the government banned the first tranche of Chinese apps, adding to the list over the months.
