India smartphone market declines 1.7% in CY2020 after years of growth: IDC

Stay-at-home mandates, remote work, remote education, travel restrictions, and manufacturing shutdowns impacted the India smartphone market, which exited CY2020 at 150 million units, down 1.7 per cent year-on-year, said the report by International Data Corporation’s (IDC).

The first half of the year (H1-2020) was marked by sluggish growth with demand down 26 per cent YoY, the second half saw recovery. H2-2020 recovered with 19 per cent YoY growth. Lockdowns and restrictions rendered an urgent need for devices supporting activities such as entertainment, work from home, and remote learning, resulting in more devices per household, and leading to a resurgence in demand for consumer devices including smartphones, consumer notebooks, and tablets in 2020, said the IDC report.