As <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> prepares for the 5G era, the installed base of smartphones with 5G capabilities crossed 5 crore in the country, a report showed on Friday. The 5G smartphone shipment share reached 29 per cent of overall shipments in the second quarter (Q2), which was the highest ever. "The 5G spectrum auction and commercial availability will accelerate 5G smartphone adoption among users," said research analyst <keyword id="325148" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="shilpi-jain" source="Orion">Shilpi Jain</keyword>. The government has reached new heights in introducing the 5G technology with an auction of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore for 5G spectrum. India's total smartphone installed base crossed 600 million (60 crore) during the April-June quarter as shipments grew 9 per cent (on-year) but fell 5 per cent (on-quarter) to reach almost 37 million units, according to latest research from Counterpoint's Market Monitor service. The annual growth was primarily driven by a lower base in Q2 2021 due to the second Covid-19 wave. The quarterly drop was due to macroeconomic headwinds affecting consumer demand. "Consumers are preferring to repair their device or buy a refurbished one rather than make a new purchase. This trend is more visible in the entry and budget segments. Due to this decline in demand, almost all the brands are facing inventory issues," said senior research analyst <keyword id="9638737" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="prachir-singh" source="Orion">Prachir Singh</keyword>. At the end of June, India's smartphone market was sitting on more than 10 weeks of inventory, more than double the normal inventory size. <keyword id="6354427" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> grew 63 per cent (on-year) in Q2 driven by a smaller base in Q2 2021 due to the Covid second wave. It remained the top-selling brand in the ultra-premium segment. "The opening of its own e-store, <keyword id="6354606" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="iphone" source="Orion">iPhone</keyword> SE 2022 and offers on other models will further drive Apple's shipments in the coming quarters," the report mentioned. The smartphone retail ASP (average selling price) grew 10 per cent driven by an increasing share of the higher price segments. India's overall mobile handset market grew 6 per cent (on-year) but fell 9 per cent on quarterly basis. The feature phone market registered a decline of 17 per cent primarily due to the decline in consumer demand, the report mentioned. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/becoming-a-smart-cloud-investor-managing-hidden-egress-costs/articleshow/93204053.cms">Becoming a smart cloud investor: Managing hidden egress costs</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/list-of-bank-holidays-in-august-2022-month/articleshow/93204207.cms">Bank holidays in August 2022</a>

5G-enabled smartphones in India cross the 5 crore mark ahead of commercial 5G rollout

<ul><li>Global cellular internet of things (<keyword id="1967280" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iot" source="Orion">IoT</keyword>) module shipments grew by only 2 per cent (on-year) in Q3 2022.</li><li>China's shipments decreased 8 per cent (YoY) in Q3 due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.</li></ul>Global cellular internet of things (IoT) module shipments grew by only 2 per cent (on-year) in Q3 2022, as China led the market followed by <keyword id="6378080" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="north-america" source="Orion">North America</keyword> and Europe. According to a report by <keyword id="6439913" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="counterpoint-research" source="Orion">Counterpoint Research</keyword>, China's shipments decreased 8 per cent (YoY) in Q3 due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases. Automotive, router/CPE, PC, industrial and point of sale (POS) were the top five applications in terms of value in Q3. However, some of this demand decline was offset by an increase in the residential, smart door lock, patient monitoring, registrar device, smoke detector, drone, smart meter and automotive applications. Senior Research Analyst <keyword id="329240" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="soumen-mandal" source="Orion">Soumen Mandal</keyword> said that the IoT module market is undergoing changes as demand for low-end technologies like 2G and 3G declines and "shifts towards 4G Cat 1 and 4G Cat 1 bis, where higher-end applications are upgrading from 4G to 5G". In this quarter, the top three technologies in terms of shipments - NB-IoT, 4G Cat 1 and 4G Cat 4 -- accounted for over 60 per cent of the total shipments. "However, in terms of revenue share, 5G, 4G Cat 4 and 4G Other were the top three technologies and held nearly two-thirds of the total revenue. The lower-end technologies such as NB-IoT, 4G Cat 1 and 4G Cat 1 bis are helping connect a greater number of IoT devices, while higher-end technologies like 4G Cat 4, 4G Other and 5G are adding more value to the IoT ecosystem," said Mandal. Despite slower growth in IoT module shipments, IoT module revenue increased by 12 per cent YoY in Q3 due to a higher mix of 5G and 4G Cat 4 modules. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ces-2023-dates-news-products-and-what-to-expect/articleshow/96591686.cms">All-new Apple CarPlay features to AI for automobiles — here are some car technologies expected to arrive in 2023</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ces-2023-dates-news-products-and-what-to-expect/articleshow/96591686.cms">CES 2023: Dates, news, products, and what to expect</a>

Global cellular IoT module market grows only 2% in Q3

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Despite a stock market that's less than 1% away from record highs, bearish forecasts are out in full force.</li><li>Top economists and portfolio managers are warnings of everything from an imminent recession to the potential for a 65% stock-market crash.</li></ul>Even with the stock market less than 1% away from a record high, top forecasters who have consistently leaned bearish can't shake the idea that a painful decline is imminent. Some warn of an imminent recession following a weaker-than-expected April jobs report that coincided with a jump in weekly jobless claims, while others suggest a stock market crash similar to 1929 is about to happen.While these forecasts have fallen flat on their face so far, they're still worth monitoring as a way for investors to poke potential holes in the consistently bullish narrative that the economy, corporate profits, and stock market are doing just fine.Here's a roundup of the most recent bearish forecasts coming from Wall Street.<h3>Gary Shilling: Recession by year-end means 30% stock market plunge</h3>Wall Street veteran Gary Shilling told Business Insider this week that he expects a recession to materialize in the US economy by the end of the year as the labor market shows signs of weakening. And a weakening in the labor market will crush investor confidence and send the stock market falling by as much as 30%."You look at all the kind of speculation that we've had out there, it's indicative of a lot of overconfidence, and that usually gets corrected and corrected violently," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-recession-outlook-layoffs-job-market-gary-shilling-2024-5">Shilling told BI's Jennifer Sor.</a> "I think that the safe bet is for a recession starting later this year if we're not already in it."Shilling is known for correctly identifying the US housing bubble in the mid-2000's, though most of his consistently bearish views over the past decade have yet to pan out. <h3>John Hussman: A 65% stock-market crash wouldn't be surprising</h3>John Hussman, president of the Hussman Investment Trust, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-crash-outlook-1929-bear-market-overvalued-john-hussman-2024-5">issued a bearish warning on stocks this past week,</a> arguing that the S&amp;P 500 is trading at similar extremes seen in the run-up to the 1929 Great Depression as the fear-of-missing-out takes over investors."Statistically, the current set of market conditions looks more 'like' a major bull market peak than any other point in the past century, with the possible exception of the 1929 peak," Hussman said, adding that the combination of "extreme valuations, unfavorable market internals, and dozens of other factors" give him comfort in having a bearish outlook on the stock market.Hussman said he wouldn't be surprised if the S&amp;P 500 crashed 65%, which would erase a decade of stock market gains and put the index at about 1,800, or where it traded at back in February 2014. Hussman is famous for successfully warnings about the 2000 dot-com bubble and the 2008 housing market crash, though his consistently bearish predictions since then have yet to fully materialize.<h3>BCA Research: A recession in early 2025 will cause 30% stock market decline</h3>BCA strategist Roukaya Ibrahim warned that a 30% correction in the stock market could be sparked by a recession early next year.Ibrahim <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crass-recession-in-2025-tumble-stocks-by-30-2024-5">told Bloomberg TV</a> that the combination of elevated stock valuations and decelerating growth would send the S&amp;P 500 back down to 3,600, which is around where the index bottomed in October 2022.Ibrahim pointed to the April employment report, which saw 175,000 jobs added to the economy, revealed lower job openings, hires, and quit rates, all of which signal a shifting narrative toward economic downside, not upside."Eventually, the unemployment rate is going to take higher and that's going to lead to concerns about a recession," Ibrahim said.<h3>David Rosenberg: Signs are growing of a potential hard-landing in the economy</h3>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-us-economy-job-market-hard-landing-gdp-growth-2024-5">US might be "sleepwalking" into a recession</a> as the labor market shows signs of weakening, according to top economist David Rosenberg."We're constantly asked when we're planning to throw in the towel on our recession call, but perhaps it's time folks started asking when the rest of the street is going to pick their towels back up," Rosenberg said in a note this week. "We've seen a downshift in the data flow that are starting to indicate that the downturn in the economy may not be as far away as many believe."Rosenberg said the Sahm Rule is on the verge of flashing a recessionary warning after the unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9% in April, and that manufacturing activity contracted for the 17th month out of the last 18 months."Don't get complacent. The labor market is cracking, a slowdown in services activity is dragging on real-time growth, and forward looking financial signals still point to a coming slowdown," Rosenberg said.Rosenberg famously predicted the 2008 recession, but his consistently bearish economic outlooks since then have largely fallen flat.<h3>The counterpoint: A bullish take to balance out the doomsayers</h3>One investment strategist who has been consistently bullish, and therefore right, over the past few years is market veteran Ed Yardeni. Yardeni said in a note on Friday that the economic doomsayers are likely once again too early in their recession predictions following the weaker-than-expected April jobs report and weekly initial jobless claims data."The most widely anticipated recession of all times is turning into the longest widely anticipated recession of all times," market veteran Ed Yardeni said. "One day, the diehard hard-landers will be right."But that day probably won't come anytime soon, according to Yardeni, as corporate profit estimates continue to hit record highs."Forward earnings rose to a record high during April, consistent with a solid labor market. So we don't buy the claim that the latest jobless claims is just the beginning of a significant downturn in the labor market and the economy," Yardeni said.

From a 65% stock market crash to an imminent recession, here's a roundup of recent high-profile bear forecasts

Packed with industry-leading health and fitness tools, <keyword id="6354427" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="apple">Apple</keyword> Watch has once again dominated one of the key wearable segment, leading the <keyword id="10878690" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="smartwatch-category">smartwatch category</keyword> with a 51 <keyword id="10878691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="per-cent-global-share">per cent global share</keyword> in 2020 and further cementing its position in the India market, according to latest reports this week. <keyword id="22670" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="watches">Watches</keyword> grew significantly as demand for wrist bands declined during the year, witnessing a 139.3 per cent (on-year) growth with 2.6-million unit shipments last year. According to the IDC, smartwatches, which can run third-party applications on the device itself, accounted for a 24.5 per cent share in the watch category and Apple continues to lead the smartwatch category with a massive 51 per cent share in 2020. "In India, mainly Watch 3 and Watch 6 led to the growth in 2020. Apple Watch has been well received by the Indian consumers," Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices &amp; IPDS, <keyword id="126803" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IDC-India">IDC India</keyword>, told. Price reductions on older Apple Watches and the promotional discounts offered by banks and e-tailer channels on Series 5 and Series 6 made the device a popular purchase among consumers in India. According to Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, the high cost associated with wearable watches is not much of a challenge anymore. "Also, the watch form factor is now seen as more appealing to the consumers, and vendors will leverage this shift by further expanding their watches portfolio in coming quarters," he added. <keyword id="6439913" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="counterpoint-research">Counterpoint Research</keyword> said that Apple Watch Series 6 and SE did well globally, shipping 12.9 million units and accounting for 40 per cent market share in Q4. "In a year where annual growth inched forward at only 1.5 per cent, Apple maintained its solid number one position and increased its market share by 6 per cent, helping shift the overall market closer to the premium segment," it said. Apple Watch users can view their cardio fitness levels in the Health app on <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword>, and receive a notification if it falls within the low range. Apple Watch already estimates average and higher levels of VO2 max during vigorous outdoor walks, runs, or hikes, which many runners and other athletes monitor to improve performance. Apple Watch also has several other health features like ECG, Fall Detection and more. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-find-my-stalking-airtags-item-safety-alerts/articleshow/81342449.cms">Apple’s new Find My feature updated to prevent stalking as launch of the rumoured AirTags nears</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/regulating-digital-news-is-important-but-freedom-of-press-is-precious/articleshow/81341289.cms">OPINION: Regulating digital news is important but freedom of press is precious</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heranba-industries-ipo-makes-a-bumper-debut-on-stock-exchanges/articleshow/81342578.cms?upcaceh=2">Heranba Industries makes a bumper debut on stock exchanges — shares soar 44% over the issue price band</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/ignore-low-cibil-score-for-street-vendor-loans-work-on-holidays-and-other-diktats-from-indian-government-to-banks-rushing-to-meet-march-target/articleshow/81223572.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Bankers may be working all 31 days of March with the government looking to double the loans doled out under the PM SVANidhi scheme</a>

Apple Watch garners 51% global market share, India sweet spot, says report

New Delhi, Democratising <keyword id="6355118" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology">technology</keyword> for all technology enthusiasts across <keyword id="2438713" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="price-points">price points</keyword>, <keyword id="6785002" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="poco">Poco</keyword> on Monday announced that it has emerged as the third-largest online smartphone player in the Indian market. As per <keyword id="1599140" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Counterpoint">Counterpoint</keyword> India Smartphone Monthly Model Tracker 2020 November, two out of the top three devices sold online were POCO devices, with <keyword id="9177130" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="poco-m2">Poco M2</keyword> and <keyword id="9621734" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Poco-C3">Poco C3</keyword> recording maximum demand. "Within the first 10 months of becoming independent, we are the third-largest online smartphone player in the market and even sold over 1 million units within the first week of the Big Billion Day sale on Flipkart. 2020 has been an exciting year for us at Poco India and we are looking forward to creating newer milestones in 2021," Anuj Sharma, Country Director, Poco India said in a statement. As part of the celebration and extending its gratitude, Poco India is discounting its best-sellers for a limited time. Consumers will be able to purchase Poco C3 3+32GB variant at ₹6,999 and 4+64GB variant at ₹7,999. Poco X3, the gaming powerhouse, will be up for grabs starting at ₹15,999, with a flat ₹1,000 discount on all 3 variants. "Poco after becoming an independent brand in the beginning of this year is gaining momentum in the Indian smartphone market. Its smartphones like Poco C3 and Poco M2 were the main drivers of this growth. Features like a large display, 5000 mAh battery and gaming processor at affordable price points made both models lucrative for consumers," Shilpi Jain, Research Analyst, Counterpoint added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/2021-will-be-a-watershed-moment-for-india-tech-ecosystem-here-are-the-startup-sectors-that-vcs-are-betting-on/articleshow/80208631.cms">‘2021 will be a watershed moment for India’s tech ecosystem’ — here are the startup sectors that VCs are betting on</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/oneplus-band-with-24-hour-heart-rate-monitoring-14-days-battery-life-launched-in-india/articleshow/80209025.cms">OnePlus Band with 24-hour heart rate monitoring, 14 days battery life launched in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/radhakishan-damani-dmart-ready-takes-cautious-steps-against-jiomart-and-amazon/articleshow/80209971.cms">Pitted against JioMart, Amazon and others, Radhakishan Damani’s DMart has opted for “controlled acceleration” in e-commerce</a>

Xiaomi's Poco becomes third largest online smartphone brand in India

It took <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> two years to end <keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword>'s winning streak in the India smartphone market, as the South Korean major recaptured the top slot in the third quarter (July-September period) with 24 per cent share, as the Chinese major logged 23 per cent market share, a Counterpoint Research report said on Wednesday. Riding on multiple strategies -- including effective supply chain and touching various price points through new launches -- Samsung became the leading brand in the India smartphone market with 32 per cent (year-on-year) growth. Samsung was also the fastest to recover, surpassing the pre-COVID levels in Q3 2020, according to the latest research from Counterpoint's Market Monitor service. Samsung's aggressive push in online channels, with highest-ever online contribution within its portfolio, also helped it regain its number one spot, the report noted. Xiaomi slipped to number two position for the first time since Q3 2018 with 4 per cent YoY decline. "Manufacturing constraints due to the Covid-19 situation affected its supply chain, leading to a supply-demand gap," the report noted. Vivo with 16 per cent market share and Realme with 14 per cent share were third and fourth, respectively. Overall, India's smartphone shipments grew 9 per cent (YoY) to reach over 53 million units in Q3 2020 e the highest-ever shipment in a quarter. "In terms of price bands, the mid-tier (Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000) segment registered the highest growth and reached its highest ever share in a quarter," said senior research analyst Prachir Singh. In the overall handset market, Samsung was once again the leader with 22 per cent market share, followed by Xiaomi at 14 per cent share. The report said that with ramped-up manufacturing, strong demand for the Redmi 9 and Note 9 series, aggressive product strategy and growing offline presence, "we believe Xiaomi will come back strongly in the coming quarter". Vivo grew 4 per cent (YoY) and retained its third position in Q3, driven by strong demand for its Y-series models in offline channels. In Q3 2020, it entered the premium market with the X50 series and was the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to launch a gimbal camera that got positive feedback from consumers. "Though online channels remain in focus, OEMs are also trying to leverage new opportunities in offline channels in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities," said Research Analyst Shilpi Jain. In this regard, Xiaomi launched 'Mi store on Wheels', Samsung launched Galaxy M01 Core and vivo announced more retail discounts. "Additionally, the brands are focusing on affordability by announcing cashbacks, promotions and offers on devices," Jain added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/samsung-now-lets-you-buy-up-to-four-products-in-one-single-emi-as-it-seeks-to-boost-sales-this-festive-season/articleshow/78840908.cms">Samsung now lets you buy up to four products in one single EMI as it seeks to boost sales this festive season</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/samsung-and-stanford-university-have-developed-an-oled-display-with-10000-ppi/articleshow/78869268.cms">Samsung and Stanford University have developed an OLED display with 10,000 PPI</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/checkout-samsung-galaxy-m51-mobile-review/articleshow/78780771.cms">Samsung Galaxy M51 review – insane battery life, but that makes the phone slightly heavy</a>

Samsung overtakes Xiaomi to retake the smartphone crown in India

<keyword id="6358777" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-Delhi">New Delhi</keyword>, South Korean major <keyword id="10591" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> has retained the top spot in the global Smartphone market in 2020 with shipping 255.7 million units and capturing 19% share, down 14 per cent (on-year), a new report said on Thursday. Samsung shipped 62.5 million units in the festive quarter (October-December period). The Galaxy A series, a mid-to-low-end product lineup, continued to perform well. realme became the fastest growing brand for the year, growing 65 per cent (YoY) in shipment volume. The global smartphone market declined 1 per cent (YoY) in Q4 2020. However, the market rose 8 per cent (QoQ) in Q4 2020, recovering from the global impact of Covid-19, according to latest research from Counterpoint's Market Monitor service. "It is interesting to note that the market also made a distinct migration from feature phones to smartphones as the <keyword id="6355190" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Devices">devices</keyword> became a medium for education, work and entertainment. A <keyword id="6374218" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Strong">strong</keyword> 5G push by the industry through reduced device prices and operator tariffs further boosted the market's recovery process," said Research Analyst Aman Chaudhary. For Q4, <keyword id="6354427" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="apple">Apple</keyword> captured the top spot in the global smartphone market and for the full year 2020, it was second with 15 per cent market share. "The pent-up demand for a new 5G iPhone, strong carrier promotions, especially in the US, and the iPhone 11's longevity are some of the reasons for this growth," the report mentioned. Despite the sanctions and severe component shortages after the escalated US trade ban, Huawei managed to achieve the third spot, thanks to its strong performance in China. Xiaomi's global smartphone shipments grew 31 per cent (YoY) to reach 43 million units in Q4 2020. OPPO achieved 9 per cent market share (34 million units) in Q4 2020. "OPPO's strong performance was driven by its aggressive strategies to expand its presence in the overseas markets, particularly in Europe and the Middle East and Africa (MEA)," Chaudhary said. Google performance improved over the quarter driven by the Pixel 4A and Pixel 5. It offered attractive discounts on its new range of 5G devices in the US which emerged as a strong alternative to other mid-range Android devices, the report said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/indian-grooming-startup-bombay-shaving-company-gets-45-crore-investment-from-dettol-maker-reckitt-benckiser/articleshow/80491558.cms">Indian grooming startup Bombay Shaving Company gets ₹45 crore investment from Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/a-playbook-for-budget-2021-to-boost-electronics-manufacturing-in-india/articleshow/80476759.cms">A playbook for Budget 2021 to boost electronics manufacturing in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/bytedance-lays-off-employees-in-india-months-after-tiktok-ban-in-the-country/articleshow/80476721.cms">ByteDance lays off employees in India, months after TikTok’s ban in the country</a>

Samsung beats Apple to secure the top spot in global smartphone market in 2020, says new report

<ul><li><keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> closely followed Xiaomi which logged 29 per cent market share to remain at the top in Q2.</li><li>Samsung also has a diversified supply chain compared to its competitors, which helped it to maintain a steady flow of components. It was the first brand to reach almost full manufacturing capacity by the end of June, the report mentioned. </li><li>It was compounded by stringent actions taken by the government to ban 59 apps of Chinese origin and delay the import of goods from China amid extra scrutiny. </li></ul> South Korean major Samsung became the second largest smartphone brand with 26 per cent market share in India in the second quarter (April-June period) which is its highest share in the past two years, a new report said on Friday. Amid stuttering supply for some <keyword id="9636204" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="major-chinese-brands">major Chinese brands</keyword> and the anti-China sentiment, Samsung gained big as pent-up smartphone demand after lockdown pushed the June volumes and the company was ready with full manufacturing capacity to meet the demand. Samsung closely followed Xiaomi which logged 29 per cent market share to remain at the top in Q2. Revamping the M-series and launching it in offline channels together with new schemes like Samsung Care+ helped the brand to further restore its position in the <keyword id="47445" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword>, according to Counterpoint Research's 'Market Monitor Service'. Samsung also has a diversified supply chain compared to its competitors, which helped it to maintain a steady flow of components. It was the first brand to reach almost full manufacturing capacity by the end of June, the report mentioned. "The contribution of Chinese brands fell to 72 per cent from 81 per cent in Q2 2020. This was mainly due to the mixture of stuttering supply for some major Chinese brands such as OPPO, Vivo and realme, and growing anti-China sentiment," said Shilpi Jain, Research Analyst at Counterpoint. It was compounded by stringent actions taken by the government to ban 59 apps of Chinese origin and delay the import of goods from China amid extra scrutiny. Overall, the smartphone market declined a massive 51 per cent (year-on-year) to just over 18 million in Q2 as April was a washout. The nationwide lockdown resulted in zero shipments during April. "The pandemic wiped out almost 40 days of production as well as the sales of smartphones due to the nation-wide lockdown. The quarter was marred by both demand and supply constraints which led OEMs to rethink their go-to-market strategies," said Prachir Singh, <keyword id="191938" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="senior-research-analyst">Senior Research Analyst</keyword> at Counterpoint. In June, the smartphone shipments registered a mild decline of 0.3 per cent (YoY) thanks to the pent-up demand as well as a push from brands. Vivo with 17 per cent share at third spot was able to manage post lockdown demand well as it exited the quarter with 60 per cent pre-Covid levels. The launch of flagship V19 and adding more smartphones like Y50, Y30 to its Y-series portfolio helped the brand to recover fast in June. "Local manufacturing, R&amp;D operations, attractive value-for-money offerings and strong channel entrenchment by Chinese brands leaves very few options for consumers to choose from. Additionally, in the era of globalization, it is difficult to label a product based on country of origin as components are being sourced from many different countries," said Jain. Realme maintained the fourth spot though its share declined to 11 per cent as it faced manufacturing constraints due to the shutdown of the factory for almost all of May. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/after-google-pwc-india-declares-a-company-wide-holiday-for-its-employees-this-friday-offers-time-off-for-a-well-deserved-break/articleshow/77125627.cms">After Google, PwC India declares a company-wide holiday for its employees this Friday – offers time off for a 'well-deserved' break</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/mukesh-ambani-is-now-the-fifth-richest-person-in-the-world-according-to-forbes/articleshow/77105843.cms">Mukesh Ambani is now the fifth richest person in the world, according to Forbes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-hcl-tech-dont-want-h1b-ban-but-are-pocketing-savings-while-it-lasts/articleshow/77120776.cms">The H1-B visa ban is not what Indian IT firms want⁠— but they are pocketing some savings while it lasts</a>

Samsung becomes second largest brand in India after Xiaomi - as Chinese smartphones' market share falls in June quarter

<keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> continues to be numero uno, nudging ahead of Amazon. Interestingly, Flipkart and Amazon sell same amount of items on their platform, still the former continues to grab most of the market share in India. Besides, there is also an ongoing fight for the third spot between <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword> Mall and <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>, while <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> has come down to fifth place in terms of volumes. In March, Flipkart registered an average of five lakh shipments daily, whereas <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> reported nearly 4.5 lakh shipments every day. ET quoted sources saying Snapdeal saw its volumes dip significantly to 30,000 a day from a high of 1.5 lakh daily shipments in March 2016. Flipkart's strong gains come from major categories such as fashion and smartphone segment. It saw 57% rise in smartphone category in first quarter of 2017. While Amazon India had a 27% share, according to data from Counterpoint Research. In the whole of 2016, Amazon increased its share to 31% in this category while Flipkart slipped to 44%, the research firm said. "While higher GMV means more sales, higher orders mean more customers or more orders from the same customers, both are desirable for the sizeable growth of the industry," Krishna Choudhury, senior business analyst at RedSeer Consulting, told ET. "Flipkart continues to remain ahead of Amazon India in terms of gross sales," sources in the know how told ET. "We continue to see tremendous momentum despite our scale, growing at about 85% in Q1 this year. We cannot offer comment on any other financial details," a representative for Amazon India told the news daily. Meanwhile, the battle may heat up if talks of Snapdeal buyout to Flipkart become true. "Marketplaces will look to increase the commissions earned from merchants as well as from chargeable services to consumers, reducing operational costs (including manpower), and rationalising marketing expenditure whose efficacy isn't really being monitored," Devangshu Dutta, chief executive at consulting firm Third Eyesight who expects 2017 to be a year of consolidation, told ET.

Flipkart is still the king of Indian e-commerce market. Here are the numbers

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple">Apple</a> should be focused on launching the Vision Pro headset next month.</li><li>But it's battling problems with the Apple Watch, falling iPhone sales in China, and developer fury.</li></ul>With the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-gives-new-demos-for-vision-pro-2024-1">Vision Pro</a> hitting shelves in two weeks, Apple should be laser-focused on what's set to be its most significant launch since 2014.Instead, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-masimo-beeper-weakness-watch-saga-2023-12">the iPhone maker is having to deal with one big problem after another</a> – just as it's preparing to convince consumers to drop $3,500 on a pair of mixed-reality goggles.Apple's most pressing problem involves its smartwatches.It had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-halting-sales-series-9-ultra-2-watch-united-states-2023-12">to stop selling Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches last month</a> after the International Trade Commission ruled that their blood-oxygen monitors violated a patent held by health-tech business Masimo.<div type="image" title="Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2" height="2866" width="4299" msid="106963915" hostid="261"></div>Although Apple was allowed to resume sales by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on Wednesday the court reimposed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-to-stop-selling-watches-blood-oxygen-monitoring-feature-masimo-2024-1?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=business-sf">sales ban</a> until its appeal was resolved.That's a big blow to a product segment estimated to be worth about $18 billion a year to Apple.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240117431473/en/Masimo-Announces-Reinstatement-of-Import-Ban-on-Infringing-Apple-Watches">Masimo CEO Joe Kiani said</a> the court's decision "affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others' patents."Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.The ruling prompted the company to ready <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/court-bars-us-apple-watch-imports-during-appeal-over-ban-2024-01-17/">versions of the watches </a>without the blood-oxygen monitoring feature to go on sale from Thursday.<h2>Hardware headaches</h2>Worries loom over Apple's most important hardware too: the iPhone.In China, Apple's biggest international market for its smartphone, sales have plummeted in recent months. Sales of the iPhone 15 in China were 4.5% lower in China in the first 17 days compared with its predecessor, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-16/iphone-15-china-sales-disappoint-as-huawei-rises-jefferies-says">per Counterpoint Research.</a>That's partly because Chinese consumers now have more homegrown alternatives, such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-smartphone-own-designs-processors-5g-2023-9">Huawei's Mate 60 Pro</a>, that offer 5G speed and features to rival the iPhone.<div type="image" title="A customer tries out Huawei Mate 60 smartphone at a Huawei flagship store on September 4, 2023 in Shanghai, China." height="2800" width="4200" msid="106963917" hostid="261"></div>The threat of competition to demand has been so worrisome that Apple's even taken the rare step of discounting the iPhone 15 in China by about $70, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-15/apple-offers-rare-iphone-15-discount-in-china-amid-demand-fears?leadSource=uverify%20wall">Bloomberg</a> reported – just in time for the Lunar New Year.<h2>Epic battles with developers</h2>Beyond hardware, Apple is also risking a big battle with developers.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied an appeal from Apple in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-keeps-app-store-rules-after-supreme-court-decision-2024-1">its long-running legal tussle with Epic Games</a>. The Fortnite maker alleges monopolistic behavior over the way Apple forced developers to use its App Store to sell in-app items, giving Apple a 30% commission.Although Epic's antitrust claims were rejected in 2021, a court injunction required Apple to introduce changes that allow developers to direct consumers towards in-app payment options that bypass the App Store.This would, theoretically, mean Apple couldn't take a commission from developers for in-app purchases made on their apps beyond the store. Only problem is Apple's changes in response to the injunction <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2024/01/16/apple-revises-us-app-store-rules-to-let-developers-link-to-outside-payment-methods-but-it-will-still-charge-a-commission/">allow it to still take a cut of up to 27%.</a>It's a move that's already stirring outrage among developers, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-changes-its-app-store-policy-critics-call-the-moves-outrageous-7c023e0c">The Wall Street Journal.</a>These are clearly problems Apple could do without ahead of its looming Vision Pro launch.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-vision-pro-order-price-release-date-features">Vision Pro</a> success is far from guaranteed as Apple faces an uphill battle to get consumers on board with mixed reality technologies that are yet to go mainstream.Distractions are the last thing Apple needs right now.

Apple's problems are piling up ahead of its biggest launch in nearly a decade

<ul><li><keyword id="6398864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mondelez">Mondelez</keyword> India found itself in a soup on Sunday after a few screenshots surfaced on Twitter suggesting that its Cadbury Dairy Milk may contain gelatine derived from beef.</li><li>Cadbury was quick to respond to its row over beef in chocolates clarifying that the screenshots circulated on social media were of the company’s international products and all its Indian products are vegetarian.</li><li>We speak to brand and PR experts to discuss Cadbury’s crisis management strategy and what else should the brand do to win back consumer trust.</li></ul>After screenshots suggesting that Mondelez's Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates may contain gelatine derived from beef surfaced on social media platforms in India on Sunday, Mondelez India took to Twitter to clarify that its products in India are all vegetarian. It said that the screenshots circulated were of the company’s products sold overseas. Trolls were quick to call for a boycott on all Mondelez products but some users even pointed out that the screenshot being shared is that of Cadbury Australia’s website. <div type="twitter" handle="DairyMilkIn" handlename="Cadbury Dairy Milk" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1327255370444668928/1NjkNhJE_normal.jpg" favoritecount="868" retweetcount="230" status="https://t.co/798qgPozsF" createdat="1626616484000" id="1416758336909840387"></div> After issuing a public statement to soften the uproar, Mondelez decided to respond to all tweets with its official statement mentioning that the green dot on its wrapper signifies that it is 100% vegetarian. However, instead of engaging with the internet users one-on-one and addressing their queries, Cadbury decided to use its templatized statement everywhere. Sharing the best ways to tackle such crisis, particularly when the brand may not be at fault, or ‘has a plausible and believable counter-point to quell the crux of the crisis,’ Social Media Expert and Independent Communications Consultant, Karthik Srinivasan said, “Do not use stock statements and plaster it as a reply to anyone and everyone. Prioritise a few top voices who are causing maximum damage and engage with them contextually and in the form of a conversation on the medium they are active in. This requires good social media monitoring tools (to ascertain who are the top voices causing or worthy of causing most damage) and a cross-functional team consisting of PR and communications (agency and client-side) and Legal. Most importantly, this group needs to be empowered to take decisions in real-time in terms of the brand holding a conversation with its detractors online.” Dilip Cherian, Consulting Partner, Perfect Relations advised looking through the company’s Owned Media first. He said, "Responding a little late, triggers a little panic but eventually, all seems to have been well. It could also be useful for Cadburys to recognize that going forward having more details of its India-specific process and the safety factor need to be built into it. India market product specs could be emphasized on its Owned Media. This is something that we at Perfect Relations have been advocating quite strongly in recent times. With the rise of fake news and it's tremors, the most obvious place for customers or trigger happy influencers all look through the company’s Owned Media. Cadburys need to check even now whether it's India site is strong enough to tackle it's possible problems. To my mind, that's where we should start.” Many brands have become a victim of boycott culture on social media lately and a lot of them bow down and maintain a low profile to cushion the blow. Cadbury decided to address the concerns and face the situation head-on. Gone are the days where a brand could hope for this to die a natural death and wait for consumers to move on. A small trend can snowball, and a little ignorance can lead to a huge amount of audience permanently boycotting a brand. At the same time, logic dictates that brands should not get involved in arguments or low blows since it tends to feed the trolls. Suggesting the best way out of this, Tarunjeet Rattan, Managing Partner, Nucleus PR said, “A measured response is the best route. However, the mark of the measure can only be decided by the brand based on their consumer profile and industry segment.” She said that when a brand finds itself in a PR crisis such as Cadbury, it should go all out on social media. Sharing how Cadbury can further fix the damage caused, Rattan added, “Add Linkedin to the mix so that they can get Corporate Inc behind them. Engage with editorial media to help them share their side of the story with an interesting bite or two sprinkled with nuts and nuggets (no pun intended). Create a statement that goes up on their website and social media pages along with a newsletter sent out to all internal and external stakeholders. Reach out to fact-checking websites/handles and ask them to do their own checks and put it out. Add a dose of sweet humour (in true Cadbury style) by engaging reel influencers and use it as an opportunity to turn this into positive PR for them.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="You snooze, you lose" text="You snooze, you lose">You snooze, you lose</cmsannotation> Cherian said that a company should get back to its trolls on Twitter in less than an hour. "Companies, in today's hyper-connected world, can get trolled cancelled or boycotted swiftly, for all the right reasons. But what really constitutes a crisis, and one that strikes from the outfield is when it's totally based on wrong reasons. Cadburys has fallen victim to a classic case of this with the wildcard allegation that its chocolates manufactured in India had beef components in them. There is an element of mischief here but by those trying to create a sensation to ride out with. Speed is the most important ingredient in managing a crisis of this kind given that these issues have been dealt with multiple times before. So, there is no reason why there should be anything even close to an hour's delay in getting back on mischievous tweets that sought to cause commercial and customer confusion. The fact that the company chose to clarify directly to the person pushing the offending tweet is good. But at Perfect Relations, we'd have opted for a quicker but generic tweet. That I believe would have been even better. And the time factor needs to be taken into account. We now live in a 24x7 world and crisis can erupt anywhere at any time. There is no time to pause to ponder and prevaricate. Pushing out the right message very quickly is essential. In my view, Cadburys did manage to stem rubbish from expanding. But some hits were hurting," said Cherian. Srinivasan also said that if a crisis begins and perpetuates on social media, the conversations on Twitter need to be quick and in real-time. “Delays in reacting to specific questions could make it seem like the brand has something to hide. A brand handle on social media is just that - a brand handle, without a human voice. So when trying to add a factual counterpoint, it would be better to name a credible, verifiable (LinkedIn'able!) individual as the person behind the counter-point.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Personalisation" text="Personalisation">Personalisation</cmsannotation> When Fortune Oil got caught in a crisis earlier this year, after its brand ambassador Sourav Ganguly suffered a mild heart attack, it immediately released a statement asserting that it would continue to work with Ganguly. After a few days, it launched a personalised print ad penned by its ambassador Ganguly to clarify that there are multiple reasons that can affect one’s heart's health. In Cadbury’s case, it is just a note from brand’s official Twitter page and Srinivasan pointed out that ‘when sharing a factual response as a stock statement, who says it matters. For instance, if the response being used by Cadbury now was attributed to the India CEO, that would carry more weight.’ Due to the vastness of information available on social media, a lot of such crises come and go. Add to it people's perpetually decreasing attention spans. However, a Google search can still bring up stories around such controversies with just one search which could result in people changing their minds about a particular product. So, durable brands, FMCG or luxury brands need to be extra careful while handling a ‘small’ PR crisis. Srinivasan added, “It is important to put forward the brand's counterpoint impactfully so that future readers see both sides of the controversy and are able to make up their mind unambiguously.” He is sure that Mondelez will pull a ‘Maggi’<a href="https://twitter.com/beastoftraal/status/1416989779460190208"> and hire a big celebrity </a>to cover the damage and communicate how safe their products are. For its future communication, Rattan advised, “On a consistent basis, it should keep talking about safety and hygiene. Cadbury is not new to this and has faced a crisis before. But they stopped talking about hygiene in their overall campaigns once the immediate threat was overcome. Brand conversations that touch upon safety and hygiene must be a standard and not a crisis response, especially for a brand consumed by all ages including children. Keep hammering it and then some.”

Cadbury row over beef: Was Mondelez’s crisis management strategy convincing enough to win back its consumers' trust?

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Microsoft Azure IoT platform is currently leading the overall Internet of Things (IoT) landscape in 26 out of 35 capabilities across Edge IoT, Cloud IoT and Platform Performance categories, a new report has documented. Amazon Web Services (AWS) led in 10 out of 35 capabilities in the overall IoT evaluation while Huawei ranked third offering edge to cloud capabilities, according to Counterpoint Research which used its proprietary CORE (Competitive Rankings &amp; Evaluation) framework that evaluated leading 20 IoT platform players to reach this conclusion. "The IoT market is largely still a blue ocean and in the nascent stages, with enough room for every IoT platform to grow and be successful as we see millions of enterprises and governments kickstart their digital transformation initiatives," said Neil Shah, VP Research at Counterpoint. "Moving into the new decade, we also expect healthy mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;A) activity to address several capability gaps between incumbents and startups identified by our research," Shah added. Coming from a strong enterprise cloud business, Microsoft Azure IoT is the only end-to-end platform that has successfully built its Edge IoT capabilities and offers greater interoperability with other value chain players. "Amazon AWS IoT has also done well in terms of completeness benefiting from a robust Cloud IoT and Application Enablement capabilities. Further, AWS has been building its edge capabilities via AWS Greengrass," said the report. However, the report said, AWS Greengrass still lags Microsoft and other edge-first vendors to offer an advanced and scalable edge data analytics engine. Amazon was the leader in 10 out of 35 capabilities in our evaluation. Huawei Ocean Connect offers several edge components offering edge chipsets, to devices, to software, complementing its Cloud IoT capabilities. "Huawei has a growing customer base within China and Europe, however, current US sanctions could slow its enterprise IoT business outside China," the report added. IBM leads in Cloud IoT components, benefitting from its industry leading position in Cloud and ML/AI space. RedHat acquisition also strengthens the edge software, security and virtualization offering. "However, IBM needs to advance its edge analytics capabilities and expand its partnership roster to capitalize on the Edge IoT opportunity," the report mentioned. IoT is becoming more pervasive as more and more devices are being connected to the cloud via the internet to monitor, analyze, and take action. "The next wave of digital transformation will be driven by these intelligent edge devices and corresponding highly scalable and secure IoT software," said Peter Richardson, VP Research. --IANS na/

Microsoft leads overall IoT platform landscape, AWS 2nd: Report

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c754421342cca78f7446ca3-1933/apple watch-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple Watch" data-mce-source="Hollis Johnson" />Hollis Johnson</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Apple is working on adding built-in sleep-tracking technology to the Apple Watch, according to a new report.</li><li>Apple has indicated interest in sleep-tracking technology in the past, acquiring the sleep monitoring startup Beddit in May 2017.</li><li>Apple Watch competitor Fitbit has included sleep-tracking features in its wearables for years.</li></ul>Apple is said to be developing a new feature for future versions of the Apple Watch that can monitor the wearer's sleep, according to a report from <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-26/apple-is-said-to-plan-sleep-tracking-feature-for-future-watch">Bloomberg</a>. The company has been testing the feature secretly at its Cupertino, Calif. headquarters and hopes to bring it to the Apple Watch by 2020 if those trials are successful, the report says. Such a launch would give Apple's smartwatch a key feature it's been lacking that Fitbit's smartwatches and wristbands have long offered.Fitbit made notable improvements to its <a href="http://time.com/4690586/fitbit-alta-hr-release-price-sleep-tracking/">sleep-tracking technology in 2017</a> when it launched the Alta HR, which was among the first of its devices to support the company's Sleep Stages feature. Sleep Stages, as its name implies, is capable of detecting light, deep, and REM stages of sleep, adding to the roster of sleep metrics Fitbit's could measure such as sleep time and the number of times wearers wake up throughout the night. The Apple Watch doesn't currently offer any native sleep tracking capabilities, but does support several third-party apps for sleep tracking, such as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-tracker-for-watch/id1164801111?mt=8">AutoSleep</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep/id1038440371?mt=8">Sleep++</a>.Apple has indicated that sleep tracking is an area of interest for the company in the past. In May 2017, it acquired <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-selling-new-version-beddit-sleep-tracking-device-2018-12">Beddit</a>, a startup that produces a sleep monitor to be placed on the mattress. Bringing sleep tracking to the Apple Watch would also seemingly fit with the company's ambitions when it comes to revolutionizing the health and fitness space. Apple CEO Tim Cook said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-says-health-will-be-apples-greatest-contribution-to-mankind-2019-1">the company's "greatest contribution"</a> would be in its health efforts when speaking with CNBC earlier this year. Apple and Fitbit are market leaders when it comes to wearable devices. In the second quarter of 2018, the Apple Watch was estimate to account for 41% of the smartwatch market share while Fitbit accounted for 21%, according to a <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-smartwatch-shipments-grew-37yoy-q2-2018/">report</a> from Counterpoint Research. Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Get the latest Fitbit stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/FIT-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-not-paying-taxes-trump-bezos-2018-4">Amazon will pay $0 in federal taxes this year - here's how the $793 billion company gets away with it</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/v53tEkxV-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

The next Apple Watch might introduce a new feature Fitbit has offered for a long time

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47198720.cms" />In a bid to achieve greater price parity in online and offline trading of smartphones, rivals Samsung and Apple have come out with first-of-its-kind concrete steps, which will also stress on the importance of online retailing for both of them. 
 In the new move, Samsung has tied up with Amazon and <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> to set up a ‘brand store’ on their websites. Under this, only authorised sellers would be able to offer the product at prices fixed by the Korean company. This will prevent any lucrative discounts. 
 
As per the senior executives with the cellphone trade, now unauthorised sellers won't be able to offer Samsung products on these websites. 
 Snapdeal refused to comment on the association with Samsung. An <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> spokesperson told Economic Times the Samsung store is a brand experience page and merchandising initiative whereby it showcases the breadth of Samsung's selection. "Through such initiatives, we partner with brands to engage with their and our customers," the spokesperson said. 
 
Meanwhile, Apple has now decided to allow retailers to buy its products from any of its four distributors-Ingram Micro, Redington, Rashi Peripherals and Brightstar-which earlier was not the case. 
 The move came after offline retailers complained that online sellers were getting phones from Apple's designated distributors at lower prices. Now, <keyword id="481409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Apple-India">Apple India</keyword> has informed its offline retailers that they are free to negotiate margins with distributors and can sell the products at a lower price, matching online if they want. 
 
"Even though all such communication by Apple India officials to retailers is done verbally, the big chains are already buying from distributors who offer best price," one of the executives told Economic Times. 
 
As per market tracker Counterpoint Research senior analyst Tarun Pathak, these were the first steps initiated by Apple and Samsung to tap eCommerce market in the country by working on traditional distribution lines. 
 
"Both the brands were losing sales to online-only smartphone brands at a time when e-Commerce already contributes 15% of smartphone sales in India and expected to double this year," Pathak told the financial daily. 
 
As per ET, some 115 million smartphones are expected to be sold in India in 2015. 
 
As per Chief Executive Officer of a leading mobilephone retal chain, Apple has adopted a push-back mechanism to sway offline retailers which complained about pricing disparity with ecommerce, adding that through this Apple signalled that the company was serious about not curbing online sales in any way. 
 
"Apple is not that fussy about online discounting in India as it used to be," he said. 
 
Coming to Samsung's initiative, another senior executive with an electronics chain said after blacklisting online sellers that were not maintaining pricing of the products, Samsung’s latest move will allow it to tap online shoppers without disturbing offline retailers and also give a legitimate stamp to handsets sold through Amazon and Snapdeal. 
 
Industry officials informed ET that the Korean company was also in talks with Flipkart to set up a similar online brand store and may include other eCommerce firms too. 
 A <keyword id="107877" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Samsung-India">Samsung India</keyword> spokesperson said all channel partners contribute to its market share growth and the company regularly monitors developments in both the online and offline retail spaces. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

You Searched For "counterpoint s market monitor" and got 14 results

5G-enabled smartphones in India cross the 5 crore mark ahead of commercial 5G rollout

IANS

Global cellular IoT module market grows only 2% in Q3

IANS

From a 65% stock market crash to an imminent recession, here's a roundup of recent high-profile bear forecasts

Matthew Fox

Apple Watch garners 51% global market share, India sweet spot, says report

IANS

Xiaomi's Poco becomes third largest online smartphone brand in India

IANS

Samsung overtakes Xiaomi to retake the smartphone crown in India

IANS

Samsung beats Apple to secure the top spot in global smartphone market in 2020, says new report

IANS

Samsung becomes second largest brand in India after Xiaomi - as Chinese smartphones' market share falls in June quarter

IANS

Flipkart is still the king of Indian e-commerce market. Here are the numbers

BI India Bureau

Apple's problems are piling up ahead of its biggest launch in nearly a decade

Hasan Chowdhury

Cadbury row over beef: Was Mondelez’s crisis management strategy convincing enough to win back its consumers' trust?

Karuna Sharma

Microsoft leads overall IoT platform landscape, AWS 2nd: Report

IANS

The next Apple Watch might introduce a new feature Fitbit has offered for a long time

Lisa Eadicicco

Great discounts for Apple and Samsung products could be a thing of the past now!

BI India Bureau