How love for 5G phones ‘helped’ Amazon India in the first quarter of the year 2023

5G smartphones seem to be a rage, especially in Tier 2 markets in the country. The love for 5G smartphones reportedly spurred US-based ecommerce giant Amazon’s sales in the first quarter of the year. According to a report in Economic Times (ET), strong demand from Tier 2 markets for 5G smartphones boosted Amazon India’s smartphone sales to double-digit growth in the first quarter of the year. The double-digit growth reportedly came during the first three months of the year (Q1-2023) when several market research reports pegged the overall industry shipments to have slumped nearly 20% year-on-year.

“Three out of four smartphones sold were in tier 2 markets, with over 50% being 5G devices. Customers in the rural areas are increasingly demanding future-ready features while upgrading from their existing smartphones,” Ranjit Babu, director, wireless and home entertainment, Amazon India, told ET. “We observed a surge in tier 2 markets because many of them are also first-time online shoppers,” Babu added. Babu leads the smartphone business for Amazon.

According to the senior exec, the company is now thinking of more ways to capture this demographic to fuel its next phase of growth. He, however, added that the replacement cycles continue to be high in tier 2 markets, partly on account of increased durability of devices.

Flipkart continues to lead the market
While Amazon posted impressive growth, the company continued to trail behind arch rival Flipkart in terms of accepting shipments from brands during the quarter. According to Counterpoint Research, while the online channels accounted for 44% of shipments in Q1, a majority of it went to Walmart-owned Flipkart while the Indian unit of Amazon had a 40% share.

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5G smartphones seem to be a rage, especially in Tier 2 markets in the country. The love for 5G smartphones reportedly spurred US-based ecommerce giant Amazon’s sales in the first quarter of the year. According to a report in Economic Times (ET), strong demand from Tier 2 markets for 5G smartphones boosted Amazon India’s smartphone sales to double-digit growth in the first quarter of the year. The double-digit growth reportedly came during the first three months of the year (Q1-2023) when several market research reports pegged the overall industry shipments to have slumped nearly 20% year-on-year.

“Three out of four smartphones sold were in tier 2 markets, with over 50% being 5G devices. Customers in the rural areas are increasingly demanding future-ready features while upgrading from their existing smartphones,” Ranjit Babu, director, wireless and home entertainment, Amazon India, told ET. “We observed a surge in tier 2 markets because many of them are also first-time online shoppers,” Babu added. Babu leads the smartphone business for Amazon.

According to the senior exec, the company is now thinking of more ways to capture this demographic to fuel its next phase of growth. He, however, added that the replacement cycles continue to be high in tier 2 markets, partly on account of increased durability of devices.

Flipkart continues to lead the market
While Amazon posted impressive growth, the company continued to trail behind arch rival Flipkart in terms of accepting shipments from brands during the quarter. According to Counterpoint Research, while the online channels accounted for 44% of shipments in Q1, a majority of it went to Walmart-owned Flipkart while the Indian unit of Amazon had a 40% share.

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