Signalling changing consumer trends post pandemic, Nishant Sardana, category leader, smartphones and accessories at the ecommerce major, told ET that the growth in units in 2021 was led by mid-premium smartphones in the ₹20,000-30,000 and ₹30,000-50,000 segment, which saw more than 50% on-year growth, driven by post-Covid requirement for high-performance smartphones.

“Over the last year, we have seen customers gravitate towards smartphones which are ideal for multitasking, which can manage work, entertainment, and day-to-day use cases as well,” Sardana said. He added that customers are opting for performance-centric smartphones with a better processor and larger RAM.
“Display-size, refresh rates will continue to be an ongoing battle,” he said. Speaking about the smartphone market’s premiumisation trend, Sardana said the install base of approximately 50-60 million smartphones in the price band of ₹5,000-10,000 bought in the past 3-4 years now want a better experience. “They want more from their smartphones – consuming OTT content, play games, but they realise what I have today is not sufficient, I need to upgrade to a better experience, and that’s where we are seeing the premium above ₹20,000 with 5G support doing very well,” Sardana said.
Small-town customers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities have contributed to 70% of smartphone purchases, which is three times more than tier 1 cities. Three out of four smartphones, sold on Amazon India, are being purchased by customers from tier 2 cities and towns, reflecting the demand from small towns, Sardana said.