New Delhi: Online platforms led by Flipkart and Amazon in 2022 overtook offline retailers in annual shipments of smartphones for the first time when both channels were operating in their normal capacity, unmarred by lockdowns.

But some experts expect the offline market to make a comeback this year, helped by the premium segment.

Shipments from manufacturers’ factories to online channels were at a record high share of 53% in the last calendar year even as in absolute terms they declined 6% year on year due to a fall in demand, data from IDC<\/a> India showed.

Tepid consumer demand impacted the offline segment much more, with shipments to retail stores declining 15% on year in 2022, as per the research firm.

Multiple rounds of sales and promotions, supported by preferential platform pricing and online-exclusive deals and discounts helped ecommerce players outsell brick and mortar peers in recent months, analysts said.

Even offline-heavy smartphone brands such as Oppo, Vivo and Samsung launched new sub-brands and models primarily for the online channels, they said.

However, market trackers also said the strategy to double down on the online channels backfired for some brands in 2022.

“Vendors that were focused predominantly on online channels suffered from a poor ecommerce festive sales performance in Q4 2022,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, analyst at Canalys. Brands that focused on offline channels, particularly in tier-three and tier-four cities, grew year on year, he added.

The Covid-19 outbreak and resultant lockdowns had helped online players improve market share and expand reach. “There was a nudge of 5-10% share in favour of online after the pandemic, after consumers struggled to purchase new smartphones from offline channels due to a lack of options and higher prices,” said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC<\/a> India.

While Singh expects online channels to hold on to around 50% share in 2023, some think offline channels will regain the leadership.

“We believe, as markets open up, the offline channels will make a comeback and regain some lost share,” said Prachir Singh, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research<\/a>. “In 2023, we believe the online channel’s share to drop to 47%.”

The market research firm believes a renewed push from brands such as Redmi and Realme will help offline stores as they account for 30-45% sales of these brands.

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Shipments in India smartphone market decline 10% in 2022; Xiaomi top brand in Q4: IDC<\/a><\/h2>

According to IDC, Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo led the market in the December quarter by shipments. However, according to separate reports by Counterpoint and Canalys, Samsung was the top smartphone brand while Xiaomi stood in the third position in the quarter.<\/p><\/div>