- In September, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its first online store in India, a region where Android phones have historically held 99% of the market.
- The store marked the first time Apple offered its full lineup of products directly to the region's customers, who previously had to buy items through Amazon India, Flipkart, or other authorized sellers.
- Apple's contract manufacturers had slowly been moving more production to India to lessen dependence on China and get around India's import taxes.
- The tech giant's renewed focus on India paid off with a double-digit growth to nearly 800K units in the region during Q3, according to new Canalys data.
- "Apple is finally paying attention to India,” says Canalys Research Director, Rushabh Doshi. “It has opened a direct online store, giving it several new angles in its go-to-market strategy, such as utilizing device trade-ins to provide purchase incentives, or bundling AirPods with iPhones to make them more appealing. However, its new iPhone 12 family will be a tough sell in India this year, as network operators do not yet have the infrastructure for mass market 5G deployment, erasing a key feature of the devices. Not to forget, Apple’s pricing strategy for its new iPhones in India needs serious consideration.”
- Xiaomi (XI) and Samsung (OTC:SSNNF,OTC:SSNLF) topped the market with shipments of 13.1M and 10.2M, respectively, and market shares of 26.1% and 20.4%.
- Previously: Apple launches first online store in India (Sep. 23 2020)
- Here's the full performance table, via Canalys. Note that Apple would be lumped into that Others category:
