With smartphones becoming the mainstay of Indians looking to tap into work, learning and entertainment on the go, there has been a significant increase in the demand for premium smartphones that are 5G enabled, offer high processing power with a wider display and high-quality camera in the first half of 2022. While metros were the first to pick on this demand, it is the tier 2 and beyond cities which are witnessing notable growth over the last few years and this demand is expected to continue as we move closer to the festive season and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days.

According to insights from Flipkart, there has been a more than 25% jump from January to July this year in the demand for premium smartphones on the platform and of that, there has been a 40% increase in the demand from Tier 2 and beyond along with cities such as Guntur, Hisar, Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, etc., indicating a strong preference for high-performance premium smartphones. Also, the platform has seen a growth of more than 60% in the number of new launches (in the premium segment) across brands like Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel, OPPO, and Nothing among many others.

This is an interesting trend as customers look to make new purchases of mobiles and other electronic essentials during the festive season and Flipkart during its annual festive event – The Big Billion Days which aims to bring the widest selection of premium smartphones for millions of consumers.

Commenting on the emerging trend, Kunal Gupta, Senior Director, Mobiles at Flipkart, said, “As one of the fastest growing markets for smartphones in the world, we are witnessing increasing traction for premium smartphones across the country with tier 2 and beyond cities taking a lead in the demand. This is an indication of the evolution of the smartphone market where owning premium smartphones has gone beyond the aspirational need for customers across geographies and has become an important part of their daily lives. As a customer-focused organisation, we are proud to make available the widest selection of smartphones from across a wide range of brands along with industry-first affordability constructs to make their purchase affordable and accessible.”

As per global research firm Counterpoint, India’s smartphone user base crossed the 600-million mark during the April-June quarter with the 5G smartphone shipment share reaching 29% of overall shipments in Q2 2022, which was the highest ever. The growth in upper and premium segments is primarily due to the availability of financing schemes aimed at increasing device affordability.

Flipkart offers several affordable payment constructs including No Cost EMI, Debit Card EMI, Flipkart Pay Later and Product Exchange or Prexo to enable an affordable purchase, which have been witnessing steady adoption. Particularly for premium smartphones, Product Exchange adoption has grown by over 50% during Jan -Jul’22 as compared to the same period last year, indicating a strong preference for purchase of premium smartphones through exchange constructs to make the purchase affordable.

To further enhance customer satisfaction, Flipkart has introduced various technological and delivery constructs such as viewing the product through augmented reality, 360-degree view to offer a detailed insight into the product and help in making a purchase decision. In addition to this, Flipkart assures a stress-free purchase with offerings like Open Box Delivery, Extended Warranty and Screen Damage Protection which offers a comprehensive smartphone protection plan that covers screen, liquid, software and hardware damages.