Feature phone shipments in India to drop 44% in 2019: Report

On an average, Adil Ali sells 8-9 feature phones at his mobile phone shop located in Chennai’s bustling Richie Street, compared to 1-2 smartphones a day. A few streets away, the story is the same at Ankit Enterprise, owned by Khaja Moieen.

While smartphones remain unsold on most days, Moieen is able to sell at least 3-4 feature phones on weekdays and 10-12 handsets during weekends.

Sales in these two small shops are only a microcosm of a larger trend. While smartphone sales across the globe is reaching near saturation, demand for feature phones — that caters to a vast majority of the bottom of the pyramid population — is on a steady wicket.