New Delhi August 18, 2010: - Shuchi, a US-based NRI, visited India after seven years. Expecting things to be as they were seven years back, she bought a feature-rich handset from a leading global brand and put it in her handbag for safe-keeping, whenever she stepped out of the house. A week later the handbag had been left in the suitcase. “People here seem to go out of the house with only their mobile phones and car keys,” she said. And the handsets she saw here, made her feel she had over spent on her ‘branded’ phone!
Today, it has become a Swiss Knife for though it might not have a corkscrew or a nail cutter but a mobile is a phone, a data handler and a one-stop gadget for all entertainment and communication needs.
As handset makers strive to innovate the perfect device, sales of handsets are breaching new barriers in India. The first 3 months (January-March 2010) of the year handsets sales stood at a record breaking 36.35 million, according to the CMR India. This was a growth of 39.5% year-on-year (Q1 2010 over Q1 2009) in terms of unit shipments.
Naveen Mishra, Lead Telecoms Analyst, CMR India, "Over the last few years the mobile phone has morphed to become no less than the 'Swiss Knife' of personal communication devices. How many people do we know who have stopped wearing a wrist watch or a stop watch or carrying a FM radio player or a calculator or a flashlight...the list is seemingly endless. Today mobile phones are available with up to 32 GB internal memory and a 12-megapixel camera."
Almost every day a new mobile handset model is launched by a vendor with an innovation. Some features address basic user concerns in an emerging market like India - lack of access to 24x7 power supply to recharge batteries (30-day recharge cycle phones, solar powered handsets), operating in noisy, dusty and/or humid conditions (high decibel speakers, dust-proof lamination, water-proof outer casing), living in areas with high incidence of power outages (LED flashlight) etc.
“What we see today is a mobile handsets market witnessing many innovations and enhancements in looks, features, network access-capability (3G-enabled phones etc.), and applications-capability (phones pre-loaded with e-book readers etc.),” says Mishra
Then there are features address more aspirational needs such as a digital camera with flashlight (to use in impromptu social situations such as office parties, friends' birthdays or a beautiful sunset), a primary memory card slot to store favourite music tracks/audio downloads, and an A2DP-enabled headset to be able to experience high quality wireless music/audio replays while at the same time seamlessly receive calls.
Still other features on advanced application-enabled devices address the need, especially amongst Gen Y, to be in continual touch with friends and peer groups via social networking sites (touch screen and social networking applications-enabled phones). Devices that are WiFi-enabled, 'push mail' enabled or with an on-board GPS application find buyers amongst senior business executives who want to stay in touch while travelling or on vacation.
Even the price sensitive Indian mobile user no longer looks at a mobile phone as a big ticket purchase, but more an impulse purchase associated with many of the fast moving consumer goods. This builds up the appetite of today's mobile phone buyer who looks at acquiring a mobile phone loaded with a host of features and innovations at affordable price points.
Indian Vendors – Making it affordable
As with the Swiss Knife, new players are changing the dynamics of the market. Today all major handset vendors and some leading software vendors have launched or on the verge of launching their application stores. However, it’s the Indian handset manufacturers who are gaining market share with snazzy-looking phones at extremely competitive prices.
The leading Indian brands - Maxx, Micromax, Karbonn, Spice etc. - are giving tough competition to established brands both in terms of features as well as price In addition to cannibalizing market share of MNC majors. They have gained market share as segmentation of the users based on use and price point is blurring.
The traditional classification of a business users, student and young executive segment among heavy consumers doesn’t hold in the strictest sense. When a marginal farmer uses a mobile to find out the prices of commodities in the neighbouring mandi, or a small town plumber sees a mobile phone as an aid to getting more customers, or a student using a phone to clarify doubts from her teacher the segments begin to overlap.
Within the ‘affordability plank’ mantra the segments are beginning to blur as well. The first time mobile service user typically starts with a lower cost option and doesn’t care much about the brand. And the rate of growth of mobile users is faster at the bottom of the price-sensitive market.
The growth in number of 'Indian’ brand has been rapid and dramatic—CMR studies of the mobile market show that from just 5 Indian brands in the January-March 2008 quarter commanding just 0.9% of the 100 million handsets market the number of Indian brands shot up to 28 in the October-December 2009 quarter swelling up their market share to 17.5%.
While the mobile handsets market is getting more crowded and fragmented at the lower- and mid-market segments with the rise of 'copycat' models often available for as little as one-tenth of the average sales value (ASV) of a smart phone, new vendors have been able to carve a niche for themselves by pioneering feature-rich (dual SIM card, full QWERTY keyboard) and application-rich (IM enabled) mobile handsets at attractive price points.
The new players have demonstrated that with a ground to the ear it is possible to sway and win a consumer with attractive prince points and new feature rich offerings.
To create visibility in the market most of the Indian brands are investing in growing their distribution reach and brand awareness. Use of celebrities as brand ambassadors in high decibel advertising and association with high visibility events is known to enhance awareness.
As the market grows and matures we can be sure that feature rich phones at lower price points will arm the user with more at his fingertips, just like the Swiss Knife.
For media queries, please contact:
At Strategic Communications & PR
Sanjiv Kataria,
+91-9810048095, sanjiv.kataria@gmail.com
At IDC India
Vishaal Bhatnagar, Associate Vice President
+91-9810191634, vbhatnagar@cmrindia.com
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