India has been one of the biggest markets for Apple, in terms of both sales and manufacturing. iPhones are often the preferred choice of flagships in the region, offering fierce competition to Android flagships. A new report from the Economic Times suggests that over 60% of Apple’s sales come from smaller tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India.
Apple has also started focusing more on these smaller cities through its online partnerships with various e-commerce portals. Earlier, Apple’s major focus was on serving the metropolitan cities through its premium resellers. The company is now adapting to the Indian market by revising its sales network.
Pandemic Changed Apple’s Target Regions
Neil Shah, VP of Counterpoint Research, said to the Economic Times that over 60% of Apple’s sales come from regions that are outside of the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
The demand for premium smartphones in the country has been constantly rising. People have also been shifting to their hometowns as several corporate entities have adapted to the work-from-home culture after the pandemic. Both these factors have increased the sales of iPhones from smaller cities in India.
Before the pandemic, over 65-70% of Apple’s sales used to happen from tier-1 cities. However, Apple noticed the changing behaviour of Indian customers as people started to get more comfortable with making expensive purchases online. The company then started focusing more on its e-commerce partners.
Apple launched its online store in India during the pandemic in 2020. This allowed the company to directly serve its customers all over India through deliveries. It also partnered with retail chain outlets such as Croma and Reliance Digital which increased the reach of Apple devices to more zip codes.
Apple’s focus on online sales and deeper penetration into smaller cities was also aided by easier access to credit. Portals like Amazon, Flipkart, and even Apple’s banking partners offered no-cost EMI options to their customers, giving them the flexibility of payments. These options were previously difficult with its premium reseller offline chains.
As per Counterpoint Research, over 9 million iPhones have been sold in India in 2023, and over 60% of these sales have come from tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Apple Confident on Indian Market for Further Growth
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook recently described India as a major focus for the company. Although Apple does not have a high market share in the smartphone industry in India, the company sees this as an opportunity to grow further with its premium product placement.
Apple has touched a revenue of Rs 50,000 crores in India in the current fiscal year. The company has been consistently growing in the country every year and has even doubled its revenue as compared to 2020. Apart from its growth in sales, Apple has also been heavily investing in local manufacturing in India and has urged its partners like Foxconn to set up additional production plants in the country.
