Even as mobile phone maker Samsung is available across different price points, the company said premiumisation is a larger opportunity given the consumer’s aspirations are changing towards high tech, especially with the arrival of 5G.
“There is a 700 million smartphone base also and that is premiumising. So, that’s a larger opportunity which is there to continue,” Aditya Babbar, senior director of mobile business at Samsung India, told FE.
Babbar, however, said Samsung will continue to meet consumer demands across different price points by offering both affordability and innovations.
Comments from Babbar assume significance at a time when the entry level (sub-10,000) and even the below30,000 segment have been witnessing a weakness in shipments, compared to the premium segment which is seeing continuous growth, according to analysts.
In fact, the share of the entry-level segment in the overall smartphone shipments also fell to around 45% in 2022 from 54% a year ago.
“The market is moving towards premiumisation as customer needs are changing. After pandemic, customer wants a great camera, a great screen to watch because their behaviors are changing and they are spending much more time with their devices,” Babbar said, adding that Samsung’s approach is 5G first and the company’s finance plus scheme is helping the consumers to afford the smartphones across price points.
On Friday, Samsung launched Galaxy M34 5G smartphone at Rs 16,999, which is its 12th 5G smartphone of 2023.
“With the power of Samsung Finance Plus, we have been able to create a value proposition of `44 a day for the consumer to buy 5G phones. We are growing faster than the market and our M smartphone series has been delivering good results,” Babbar said.
As of March end, Samsung has the highest 20% market share. In 5G too, Samsung’s market share is at 23%, according to CyberMedia Research (CMR).
“Our focus on affordability has helped us to continue our strong 5G leadership. We have been number one is 5G from the last five quarters,” Babbar said. Apart from affordability, Samsung strategy this year is also to launch more 5G smartphones and also balance it with technology demanded by the consumers.
Last year, Samsung launched 13, 5G phones, whereas in the first six months of 2023, the company has launched 12, 5G phones. “So that (new launches) has been a very important pillar of our premiumising the market,” Babbar said.
In 2022, Samsung’s smartphone business grew by over 20%, which was the fastest growth in the last four years. For Samsung, 5G smartphones contributed 61% to its overall smartphone business last year, higher than industry average of 56%, the company had said in January.
