Nearly $7.6 billion worth of smartphones are likely to be sold during the ongoing festive season in India, according to estimates by Counterpoint research.

The festive shopping season in India kicked off during the first week of October this year with e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart announcing their marquee Great India Festival and Big Billion Days sales. The season will end on November 4 with the Diwali festival.

As per the report, the smartphone retail average selling price (ASP) during the festive season will grow 14 per cent to reach its highest ever at $230 (around ₹17,000).

Smartphone sales are likely to be driven by high consumer demand in the mid and premium segments.

“The festive season has been driving smartphone sales in India due to high consumer demand during Dusshera and Diwali,” said Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Prachir Singh.

“This trend has been accelerated this year by the high pent-up demand backed by aggressive promotions in the mid and premium segments. We estimate that almost $7.6 billion worth of smartphones will be sold during the ongoing festive season,” said Singh.

The highest ever number estimated comes at a time when global smartphone industry is facing component shortages.

“As a result, OEMs have been forced to increase prices, which will have a higher impact on the mass market and budget segments,” Singh further added.

As mentioned before, the retail ASP is expected to grow at 14 per cent YoY. This is even as the growth in market value during the 2021 festive season is expected to be 1 per cent YoY, according to Research Director Tarun Pathak.

As per Pathak, the overall consumer sentiment has been positive going into the festive season in India.

“Many consumers have decided to spend from their accumulated savings for something that is more personal. This trend will drive a faster smartphone upgrade during the festive season,” Pathak said.

“Apart from this, the 2021 festive season is seeing higher trade-ins and aggressive EMIs that increase device affordability and help consumers bypass multiple price barriers. This has helped drive the sales of mid-to-high tier (>$200) smartphone models and, subsequently, the overall ASP. Many OEMs sensed this trend and brought out aggressive offers on premium devices. The relatively higher sales of premium segment smartphones also helped offset the losses in the mass market due to price hike,” he added.