After witnessing a weakness in the smartphone market, Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi’s market share has also fallen in the smart home security camera category. While it continues to lead the segment, its market share fell to 33% in 2022 from 41% a year ago because of strong competition from new players in the segment, according to Counterpoint Research.
At a time when the country’s total market shipments grew 44% y-o-y, Xiaomi’s exports in home security smart camera grew 15% y-o-y, less than most of other brands. Others like Tapo by TP-Link, Realme and D-Linkgrew grew 88%, 38% and 17%, respectively.
“Xiaomi’s growth has been slow in the home security camera segment as other brands have been aggressive on their portfolio and product launches, marketing and sales through their channels better than Xiaomi. Further, Xiaomi’s products are also at a premium to other brands owing to which consumers are preferring other brands,” said Anshika Jain, senior research analyst at Counterpoint.
According to Jain, Xiaomi should focus on bundling its home security camera products with its other offerings in the IoT (internet of things) segment. Besides, the company should also increase its presence in the offline market, Jain said.
Currently, the security camera market is dominated by the Chinese players, whereas the Indian brands accounted for 23% of total shipments in 2022.
Qubo by Hero Electronix is the only domestic brand in the top five players in the home indoor camera market with a 10% market share. The company is focussing on local manufacturing of products and saw a 10% y-o-y rise in shipments in 2022.
“The domestic production during the year stood at 12%, still very low for an emerging market. However, we expect domestic manufacturing
to pick up in the coming period as more Indian brands look to foray into this market, such as Airtel,” said Varun Gupta, research analyst, Counterpoint.
According to Gupta, the market grew significantly in 2022 as more consumers are becoming aware of smart cameras. With regard to the price points, shipments in the Rs 1,500-2,500 segment clocked 64% share, compared to the premium segments.
“The discount offers around Diwali further pushed the sales in 2022,” Gupta added. Further, the 2 MP camera remains popular among users, but going forward analysts expect the 3MP camera to gain more traction owing to affordability.
Smart cameras are gaining popularity among small and medium retailers as they are less expensive and easy to install. With more awareness amongst people and growing concern over safety, the market is expected to grow around 30% in 2023, according to analysts.