Major Project Report – EMBA–407

On

SMARTPHONE INDUSTRY – THE NEW ERA OF

COMPETITION AND STRATEGY
Submitted By
Saurabh Verma

(2K17/EMBA/541)

EMBA Class of 2017-2019

Under the Guidance of

Ms. Deep Shree

Assistant Professor, Delhi School of Management

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA)

At

Delhi School of Management

Delhi Technological University (Former DCE)
Shahabad Daulatpur, Main Bawana Road, Delhi – 110042
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that major project report titled “Smartphone Industry – the
New Era of Competition and Strategy” is a bonafide work carried out by Mr.
Saurabh Verma, of EMBA Batch 2017-19 and submitted to Delhi School of
Management, Delhi Technological University, Bawana Road, Delhi – 110042, in
Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Business
Administration (Executive).

The report has been checked for the plagiarism and it is acceptable.

Signature of Guide Signature of Head (DSM)

Ms. Deep Shree Dr. Rajan Yadav

Assistant Professor Head of Department

Place:

Date: Seal of Head

 DECLARATION

I, Saurabh Verma, student of EMBA 2017-19 batch of Delhi School of

Management, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, hereby declare that

(a) work presented for assessment in this major project report titled on

“Smartphone Industry – the New Era of Competition and Strategy” is my

original work, that it has not previously been presented for any other assessment

and that my debts (for words, data, arguments and ideas) have been appropriately

acknowledged; (b) work conforms to the guidelines laid by the University, and

(c) Plagiarism for this report has been checked. The summary of report is attached

along with for reference.

The information and data given in the report is authentic to the best of my

knowledge.

Signature of Student
Place: New Delhi Saurabh Verma
Date: 30th May, 2019 (2K17/EMBA/541)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my Guide, Ms. Deep Shree
(Assistant Professor, Delhi School of Management, DTU) for her support and
valuable guidance throughout the duration of the project. I thank her for the
constant encouragement and support at every stage.

I thank her for valuable guidance, without her help and support this project could
not have been completed. I also thank her for her patience for providing me with
a goal-oriented approach towards this project.

My sincere gratitude goes out to my colleagues whose participation in the project

gave many valuable inputs for its completion.

Saurabh Verma
(2K17/EMBA/541)
 Table of Contents

CERTIFICATE ....................................................................................................................................... 2
DECLARATION .................................................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 4
1. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 6
2. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7
3. Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 8
4. Research Methodology ................................................................................................................. 10
4.1. Scope of the Study ................................................................................................................ 10
4.2. Sampling Plan ....................................................................................................................... 10
4.3. Sample Size ........................................................................................................................... 10
4.4. Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 10
4.5. Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 11
5. Analysis Models ............................................................................................................................ 12
5.1. SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................................... 12
5.1.1. Strengths – There’s something for everyone ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.1.2. Weaknesses – Attention and lack of security .................................................................... 13
5.1.3. Opportunities – Not all of them are good.......................................................................... 13
5.1.4. Threats – Scams, scams, and more scams! ....................................................................... 13
5.2. PESTEL Analysis of Smartphones ....................................................................................... 14
5.3. Porter’s Five Forces Model of Smartphones......................................................................... 15
5.3.1. Competition in the Industry ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.3.2. Potential of New Entrants into an Industry ....................................................................... 16
5.3.3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers ......................................................................................... 16
5.3.4. Bargaining Power of Customers ....................................................................................... 16
5.3.5. Threat of Substitutes ......................................................................................................... 16
6. Data Analysis and Interpretation................................................................................................... 17
6.1. Age ........................................................................................................................................ 17
6.3. Status ..................................................................................................................................... 18
6.4. Part of Delhi from which the respondent belongs ................................................................. 18
6.5. How Important is your smartphone to you? .......................................................................... 19
6.6. Which Brand/Company’s smartphone do you use? .............................................................. 20
6.7. Do you prefer user experience or the best specifications for the price?................................ 21
7. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 29
8. Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 30
9. Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 31
1. Executive Summary

The intent behind writing a research paper on the said topic came from the observation on how

the Indian smartphone industry has witnessed a dramatic shift over the last 5-6 years. Coming

over from a time where brands like Samsung and Apple were the absolute norm to moving into

a new era where smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Asus, vivo etc. are fighting it out

to squeeze the maximum out of the rapidly growing mid-range segment of the Indian

smartphone consumers market.

This project is aimed towards finding the ongoing trends in the Indian smartphone market and

identifying the various core competencies that the existing market players or potential new

entrants to the industry can look to leverage on. The project also puts forward various statistics

using analytical tools to find correlation between various segments in the smartphone market

and how India can be looking towards an even more explosive, growth-ridden and an ultra-

competitive market in the coming years.

The mobile phone market is constantly in a state flux and has become highly competitive with

major international players facing strong competition from the local players, thus creating

difficulties for manufacturers to retain their market shares. The level of penetration of

smartphones in India is less than 8% which is low compared to other countries where

penetration has exceeded 15% indicating significant potential for growth in this segment.

The launch of Android based smartphones at affordable prices, especially for Indian vendors

such as Micromax, is bringing the smartphone segments within reach of the lower middle- and

middle-income segment of the Indian population. Since there is rapid launch of multiple vendor

smartphones in today’s time, it has become very difficult to understand what customer exactly

is focusing upon. This project emphases more upon the current prospective customers needs

and wants and how the ideal product life cycle of mobile devices impact on their day to day

life.
2. Introduction

Smartphones are a class of mobile phones, and of multi-purpose mobile computing devices.

They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and the

ability to handle heavily-layered mobile operating systems. These in turn, help in tackling

functions such as multimedia functionality, web browsing and mobile gaming, over the generic

functions of any mobile phone i.e. voice calling and text messaging.

The first smartphones came in the 1990’s, with the IBM ‘Angler’ being developed by Frank

Canova, and later being displayed at the COMDEX Computer Show in Las Vegas, USA. It

included an Address Book, Calendar, Appointment Scheduler, World Clock and Notepad,

along with a smattering of other features.

It was then in the 2000’s, when companies like Nokia started gaining traction amongst users

for their devices, and so did Blackberry, which hit the nail with its design aesthetics and easy

functionality. Phones during this period also had ‘Sliding Keyboards’ with restrictive touch-

screen access on the mobile device. Gradually, when the iPhone came in and disrupted the

market with endless possibilities of a touch-screen device, that is when the other companies in

the business took notice and new entrants also started popping up, opening manufacturing

facilities across the globe.

By late 2010’s, phones with screens of up to 5.5 inches, also known as ‘Phablets’ (Phone +

Tablet) started gaining popularity among the masses, especially the Galaxy Note series of

smartphones from the industry giant Samsung. The continuous increase in the number of

smartphones sold in India has account for 7.1% of the total handset sales in Q2 FY2018 from

about 5.2% in Q4 2017.

Nowadays, we’re seeing more and more technology in mobile devices with each passing day

with features such as foldable smartphones on the cusp of being available to consumers

throughout various price segments across the smartphone landscape.

3. Literature Review

The Indian smartphone industry is currently witnessing one of its brightest periods, with reports

from 2018 suggesting that there has been a 10% increase in mobile phone shipments on a YoY

(Year-On-Year) basis as compared to 2017, which gives a hint of where the smartphone

industry is headed in India. Various other reports also suggest that India is expected to become

the largest smartphone market in the world within the next few years, with the potential to grow

at a rate faster than that of China and the United States of America.

This is easy to gauge, however, due to rapid increase in levels of younger population in India

as compared to the past years, and this population also happens to be the segment with the

highest component of smartphone users in our country. This represents a proper business case

for a lot of smartphone manufacturers competing for a slice of the pie.

Xiaomi, a very prominent company in the mid-range smartphone segment in the Indian market

had its own humble beginnings back in 2014. It had set itself a modest goal of being able to

ship 10,000 smartphones in that year. In the first quarter of 2018, it shipped 8 million devices

and by the end of 2018 dethroned Samsung to the title of ‘Leading Smartphone Brand in India’

by volume of shipments and market share. Xiaomi used the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative to

eventually become its core competency, as the firm had established a couple of manufacturing

plants in India, allowing it to save on import costs from China, which in turn lead to a mobile

phone that was priced significantly less than its competitors in the segment while maintaining

a proper level of functionality and hardware specifications.

Xiaomi refers to ‘Honest Pricing’ as its USP, breaking the myth that one needs to pay more to

get a quality smartphone. Having started with an online-flash-sale-only model to sell its

smartphones (due to limited production capabilities to demand the ever-outgrowing demand),

Xiaomi now has six manufacturing units in India, and has now slowly started building an

offline presence in the Indian smartphone market, with its Mi Home and Mi Experience centers

across the country.

Companies like OnePlus, on the other hand came with a clear vision of being able to provide

the latest and best specifications on their mobile device, relative to the highest end of what was

available in the smartphone market at the lowest possible prices while curating their own

software experience. They have massively undercut giants like Samsung, Apple and Sony in

the premium smartphone space by offering devices with flagship-level performance with a

user-friendly mobile experience at prices of about half as those of the said premium brands.

According to various reports, OnePlus dethroned other premium brands in its segment to

become the ‘Leading Premium Smartphone Brand in India’ in Q2, 2018, with a market share

close to 40%, a fair bit ahead of Samsung at 34% and way ahead of Apple which reels with a

market share of just 14%. OnePlus has always stayed ahead of the curve. It has had its own fan

community in the markets it operates in and having such an initiative in India has worked

wonders for the company as it incorporated constant feedback from the Indian tech community

and has been able to make the necessary tweaks on its device from time to time. Moreover, the

fact that it can undercut the premium smartphones in its competition (from the point of view

of price) so heavily, is representative of the efficiency of its supply chain.

Up and coming companies like Realme, Oppo and Vivo are looking at establishing a foothold

in the mid-range smartphone market in India. The bigger problem for them right now is Xiaomi,

which can regulate the market to an extent due to its high market share and the fact that Xiaomi

now has a customer base that isn’t futile but is rather loyal to the company.

These new entrants only have one point to pick on, where they can try and damage Xiaomi’s

presence: Price. India is an extremely price-sensitive economy, due to a considerable section

of our society belonging to the core middle class. This is even more evident in the case of

smartphones, where people budge on their decisions even if it means getting to purchase a

significantly lower cost product for Rs 1000 less (for example). While this situation is slowly

improving with time, but this still presents a strong business opportunity for companies to try

and establish a foothold in the market taking away Xiaomi’s customers in the process.
4. Research Methodology

4.1. Scope of the Study

The study aims at finding the competition in the Indian smartphone industry, and how it affects

Millennials. Keeping this in mind, a target age group of 16-30 was decided for, as this age

range represents the most active user base of smartphones in India and complies with the very

topic itself.

4.2. Sampling Plan

Sampling refers to the selection of a part of population, which then acts as the population for a

concerned study to gather the general characteristics on behalf of the whole population. There

are various advantages of sampling, such as data collection at a cheaper/negligible cost,

improvement in accuracy of the results due to homogeneity.

Furthermore, non-probability sampling has been used to gather the responses for the study,

using convenience sampling.

4.3. Sample Size

The questionnaire has been uploaded online using Google Forms, and the total number of

responses collected were 79, which may in hindsight not look like the most impressive number

as far as responses are concerned, but since the tastes of people in smartphones is concerned,

it tends to justify the inference of the result.

4.4. Data Collection

The report has been made based on the ‘Primary Data’ collected through the Google Form,

which contained the questionnaire. Research methodology helps in identification of a core

problem, collection of data, analyzing of data and then coming up with an alternative solution

to the prospective problem.

4.5. Data Analysis

Since a lot of pie charts, percentages, bar diagrams etc. were available right on the Google

Form response page, the same have been used, in addition with certain comparisons made in

IBM-SPSS in context to the data collected.

5. Analysis Models

Several models have been used for analyzing the current smart phone industry. These are as

follows:

5.1. SWOT Analysis

Internal and External Analysis of Smartphones:

Smartphones have become the most integral part of our lives and a source of dependable means

through which we communicate.

The evolution of this industry has shown some tremendous increase in the growth graph due

to which the market shows fluctuation and competitiveness every now and then.

Due to the rapid change in the products of this industry, it becomes necessary to understand

the factors which influence the internal and external surroundings of this peripherals.
5.1.1. Strengths: -

The industry is been divided into 2 types i.e. android for Samsung, vivo etc. phones and iOS

for apple.

The massive development of smartphones has provided various job opportunities and skilled

labors. Please pass their time over the phone and simultaneously make money over the

internet.

Business meetings all across the globe is set with smartphones and also with the advancement

in ecommerce and e business, it plays a vital role in revenue generation.

5.1.2. Weaknesses: -

Users have started using the smartphones more than what actually is required which directly

or indirectly affects their lifestyle.

Entertainment industry ties up with smartphone and destroy the youth of the country in ways

in which they get trapped and addicted.

5.1.3. Opportunities: -

Smartphones bring in a lot of skills and developments to the different manufacturers in terms

of new features and usability.

Samsung is the biggest producer for smartphones display and have even cross limits by

introducing curved displays and also flip flop cameras.

5.1.4. Threats: -

With the massive extent of usages come the disadvantages of using smartphones. Since the

entire process is done over the internet and there are a lot of ways by which fraud can happen

over the internet, therefore the transactions done by smartphones are not safe enough to deal

with the threat and fraud cases.

5.2. PESTEL Analysis of Smartphones
5.3. Porter’s 5 Forces Model of Smartphones

This model is mostly used all across the globe and helps in identifying the new challenges

which any organization or products bring in the place.

Let us understand the significance of all 5 forces one by one.

• Competition in the Industry

• Potential of New Entrants into an Industry

• Bargaining Power of Suppliers

• Bargaining Power of Customers

• Threat of Substitutes
5.3.1. Competition: -

It studies about the number of competing companies producing goods and services that are a

competition to our own industry.

5.3.2. New Entrants

New entrants with lesser price of their products are the biggest challenge for the smartphone

industry. Various startups have emerged over the past years with newer and latest technologies.

5.3.3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers

The suppliers of the smartphones can really play around with pricing if the produc is unique

and very useful in the market. Blue ocean strategy are for risk takers and definitely done righ

gives higher revenue to the existing firm.

5.3.4. Bargaining Power of Customers

Customers of smartphones are very aggressive now a days. They want to have the best product

in cheapest pricing. They are the once who will be the point of contact to the dealers and tell

their feedbacks in all possible ways.

5.3.5. Threat for substitutes

By product which are produced in the market can be used as biggest means of substituting the

main product and service.

Since the smartphone industry is so big and have massive options for all sorts of various

products from everywhere. The threat of having a substitute of the same product is a measure

to which the analysis is done.

6. Data Analysis and Interpretation

6.1. Age

As can be observed from this bar chart, 30 out of 79 respondents (38%) are of the age 19, and

the bracket of age 14-30 makes up 75 out of 79 responses (Approximately 95% of the total

responses), which shows that the survey has been majorly filled up by the target audience, in a

way achieving one of the important objectives of being able to reach the right audience.

This also shows the intent of most of the millennials to fill such surveys, in the possible hope

of this study being able to make it to a player in the smartphone industry, and how the consumer

behavior habits can eventually align with the same.

6.2. Gender
According to the pie graph shown above, a little over 2/3rd of the respondents i.e. 67.1% (53

being the exact number) represent Males, whereas 32.9% or 26 respondents represent the

Females, who have filled up this questionnaire.

6.3. Status

The above pie chart shows the status of the respondents. 73.4% of the respondents i.e. 58 people

are students (school/college), 25.3% i.e. 20 people are married, where 1.3% i.e. 1 respondent

is currently seeking job(s).

6.4. Part of Delhi from which the respondent belongs

An interesting thing to observe in the responses, was the diversity of places from which these

were received. The following have been listed below:

 • 4 from New Delhi

• 16 from North Delhi

• 21 from West Delhi

• 14 from South Delhi

• 4 from Central Delhi

• 7 from East Delhi

• 5 from Gurgaon

• 1 from Faridabad

• 1 from Outside Delhi

• 1 from Hyderabad

• 1 from Vrindavan

• 1 from Sonipat

• 1 from North-East Delhi

• 1 from Noida

While the aim had been to drive the responses only from within Delhi, there were responses

from outside Delhi as well. The diversity in responses shows the willingness of people living

in these areas to fill up these surveys, and how important such surveys are to them.

6.5. How Important is your smartphone to you?

The following bar diagram shows the distribution, on a scale of 1-5, of how much people value

their smartphone. As expected, the highest rating of 5 i.e. Phone being very important, was
chosen by 45 out of 79 i.e. 57% of the respondents, followed by 4 rating being picked by 25

respondents, 3 rating being picked by 7 respondents and 2 rating being picked by 2 respondents.

There was no single respondent who valued the importance of a smartphone for them at 1 rating

point i.e. not important at all. This shows the rising influence of smartphones in our life, and

how valuable they have become.

6.6. Which Brand/Company’s smartphone do you use?

Here, we observe the following from the distribution in the pie chart:

• 18 respondents use OnePlus

• 26 respondents use Apple

• 7 respondents use Samsung

• 15 respondents use Xiaomi

• 3 respondents use Motorola

• 3 respondents use Vivo

• 2 respondents use Nokia

• 2 respondents use Honor

• 1 respondent uses Asus

• 1 respondent uses Yureka

• 1 respondent uses Lenovo

6.7. Do you prefer user experience or the best specifications for the
price?

The pie-chart here shows a relatively closely matched affair, between people choosing a mobile

for the user experience, or buying phones providing the best value for money.

The people having OnePlus and Apple phones are majorly the ones who chose the option of

importance of ‘User Experience’, which is easy to understand as well, since both these

companies offer phones with highly optimized user experience, which goes a long way towards

establishing a level of brand loyalty as well.

6.8. How much are you willing to spend on a smartphone?

The following pie chart shows an extremely close match between various segments of apt

pricing for a smartphone. Following are the metrics:

• Rs 5000-10000: 1 Respondent

• Rs 10000-15000: 19 Respondents

• Rs 15000-20000: 16 Respondents

• Rs 20000-30000: 21 Respondents

• Rs 30000 and above: 22 Respondents

It is clearly observable from the metrics that Rs 5000-10000 segment is not considered an ideal

segment for the ‘Apt Smartphone’ anymore, as the rising income levels of people have

necessitated for them to buy mobile phones that are in higher price tiers. The relative closeness

in the number of respondents across other price tiers shows that the respondents come from

different financial backgrounds, as some may feel that their phone would be ‘apt’, whereas for

someone, that same phone could be a mid-range device.

6.9. How often do you buy a smartphone, to replace an existing one?

The pie-chart shows the following distribution:

• Changing phone within 6 months – 4 respondents

• Changing phone in 6-12 months – 3 Respondents

• Changing phone in 12-24 months – 42 respondents

• Changing phone after 24 months – 30 respondents

This distribution shows that people expect the product life cycle of their phone to majorly be

between 1 and 2 years, after which they take a decision on replacing their existing mobile phone

with a new one. Companies can consider this, and then launch various categories of

smartphones, with specifications that can give the best performance to potential customers for

a period of around 2 years, after which the company can decide on launching an upgrade.

6.10. What is the ideal price point for a mid-range mobile device, in

your opinion, considering the ever-competitive Indian

smartphone market?

The distribution found in the pie chart is as follows:

• Rs 7000-10000: 5 Respondents

• Rs 10000-15000: 49 Respondents

• Rs 15000-20000: 20 respondents

• Rs 20000 and above: 5 respondents

This distribution reflects the view of a healthy majority of the respondents (About 62%) that a

mid-range smartphone in the Indian smartphone market should be priced in the Rs 15000-

20000 bracket. Companies such as Xiaomi, Vivo and RealMe have been launching a plethora

of devices in this price segment, to squeeze every bit of the market share on offering, which

goes hand in hand with the result obtained in this question from the respondents.

6.11. Is a well-established service network from your smartphone’s

manufacturer a necessity to you?

The pie chart here shows that almost every 3 out of 4 respondents of the survey (73.4%) desire

a well-established service center network from their smartphone manufacturer. This is

consequential with recent growing fears of smartphones suffering from problems in daily

course of routine, and a well-established service network of any smartphone manufacturer

allows for breathing room, and a sense of surety.

6.12. Do you prefer to buy smartphone Online or Offline?

In what was an expected result, 69.6% or 55 out of the 79 respondents prefer buying

smartphones online, whereas the remaining 24 respondents prefer buying smartphones offline.

People like to shop from the comfort of their home, and the case of smartphones is generally

no exception. Also, the fact that smartphones being sold online actually end up costing cheaper

in most of the cases, as compared to the same phone being sold offline, makes online

purchasing a favorable proposition. Over time, people have established a secure belief with

online shopping and doing transactions, which also has contributed significantly towards the

growth of E-Commerce in India. Companies like Xiaomi, who sell phones at ultra-competitive

prices, in the mid-range segment, have fully leveraged on people’s comfort of buying phones

online, to sell their phones on online platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
6.13. Are you a loyalist, when it comes to smartphone brands, or are

you willing to switch to another company, which may provide a

better offering at the same price point?

64.6%, or 51 of the 79 respondents would be willing to switch to the smartphone of a new

brand which would provide better value for money, whereas 28 respondents have a loyalist

behavior. This shows that people are more inclined towards having the best available in the

market, in their hands. While a sizable portion is still going to remain loyal to their own

smartphone manufacturer (which is seen more in the case of OnePlus and Apple, in comparison

to other companies), the mid-range segment with companies such as Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo,

Vivo etc. do not necessarily have loyal customers, which becomes a pain point for these

companies, as they essentially have to try and drive their competitors out by undercutting them

on the end price to be paid by the consumer.

 Descriptive Statistics

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Age 79 14 38 21.24 4.518

How important is your smart 79 2 5 4.43 .763

phone to you rate from 151 being

Valid N (listwise) 79

This output table in SPSS shows the mean age of the 79 respondents, which comes out to be

21.24 years. As far as the importance of smartphone to the respondents is concerned, a mean

of 4.43 is obtained, which clearly signifies that phones have really become an important of

people’s lives these days, especially to the target audience of this survey questionnaire.

Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square .118a 2 .943
Likelihood Ratio .117 2 .943
N of Valid Cases 79
a. 3 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.82.

In the chi square test of variables “Preference to buy smartphones offline or online” and

“Importance of a well-established service network”, we observe that the significance value of

.943 is higher than 0.05 (Due to 95% confidence interval), because of which the null hypotheses

is accepted. Hence, there is not a significant statistical association between the variables

involved.

How important is your smart phone to you Rate from 151 being * Which Brand Company’s smart phone do you
use Crosstabulation
Count
Which Brand Company’s smart phone do you use?
Motoro OnePlu Samsun
Apple ASUS Honor Lenovo la Nokia s g Vivo Xiaomi Yureka Total
How important is 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
your smart phone to 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 7
you rate from 151 4 6 0 0 1 1 1 6 1 1 8 0 25
being 5 16 1 1 0 2 1 10 5 2 6 1 45
Total 26 1 2 1 3 2 18 7 3 15 1 79
 Symmetric Measures c
Approximate
Value Significance
Nominal by Nominal Phi .481 .954
Cramer's V .278 .954
N of Valid Cases 79
c. Correlation statistics are available for numeric data only.
7. Conclusions

1) Responses were collected from Delhi and boundary areas. The diversity in responses shows

the willingness of people living in these areas to fill up these surveys and how important

such surveys are to them.

2) There was no single respondent who valued the importance of a smartphone for them at

“1” rating point i.e. not important at all. This shows the rising influence of smartphones in

our life, and how valuable they have become.

3) It is clearly observable how OnePlus and Apple are two of the leading premium smartphone

manufacturers in the current potential market.

4) It is a relatively a close matched affair, between people choosing a mobile for the user

experience, or buying phones providing the best value for money. The people having

OnePlus and Apple phones are majorly the ones who chose the option of importance of

‘User Experience’.

5) Rs 5000-10000 segment is not considered an ideal segment for the ‘Apt Smartphone’

anymore, as the rising income levels of people have necessitated for them to buy mobile

phones that are in higher price tiers.

6) People expect the product life cycle of their phone to majorly be between 1 and 2 years,

after which they take a decision on replacing their existing mobile phone with a new one.

7) A healthy majority of the respondents that a mid-range smartphone in the Indian

smartphone market should be priced in the Rs 15000-20000 bracket.

8) Almost every 3 out of 4 respondents of the survey desire a well-established service center

network from their smartphone manufacturer.

9) 69.6% or 55 out of the 79 respondents prefer buying smartphones online, whereas the

remaining 24 respondents prefer buying smartphones offline. People like to shop from the

comfort of their home, and the case of smartphones is generally no exception. Also, the

fact that smartphones being sold online actually end up costing cheaper in most of the cases,

as compared to the same phone being sold offline, makes online purchasing a favorable

proposition.
8. Recommendations

1. Companies should try to produce a lower volume of mobile phones in the Rs 5000-10000

category. While there may be a potential market in rural areas, the urban areas are

witnessing massive development with an increase in the standard of living of people.

2. Since one of the findings of the survey is that almost every 3 in 4 people desire a good

service network, the companies should try and focus on this issue, to make a presence felt

in metropolitan cities, by offering quality services for smartphone owners to bring about a

sense of safety and surety.

3. Majority of the respondents preferred buying mobile phones online. Mobile phone

companies can look at divesting their resources from establishing offline channels and

could possibly reuse them in making ideal service centers.

4. Companies should aim at establishing a good user experience in their mobile phones, to

have an ease of use for customers, and establishing a level of brand loyalty.

5. Companies should try to focus on making phones durable as well as long lasting from the

point of view of hardware specifications offered, as people ideally want to replace their

phones somewhere around 2 years after having bought their existing device, on an average.
9. Bibliography

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terest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

3. The Indian smartphone market is stiffly competitive, and brands need much more than

nostalgia to succeed | Link: https://www.bgr.in/opinions/the-indian-smartphone-

market-is-stiffly-competitive-and-brands-need-much-more-than-nostalgia-to-

succeed/

4. Indian Smartphone Market expands 10% in 2018 | Link:

https://www.news18.com/news/business/india-smartphone-market-expands-10-in-

2018-fastest-among-major-markets-report-2014017.html

5. How China’s Xiaomi took India’s smartphone market by storm | Link:

https://money.cnn.com/2018/04/30/technology/xiaomi-india-smartphone-manu-

jain/index.html

6. India’s Smartphone Market Share: By Quarter | Link:

https://www.counterpointresearch.com/india-smartphone-share/