Xiaomi and Vivo are inching closer to market leader Samsung in India's growing smartphone market. According to Canalys, the Indian smartphone shipments came in at 27 million units in the first quarter of 2017. The overall smartphone shipments registered a growth of 12 percent year-on-year during the quarter ending March 2017.

In terms of market share, Samsung leads the pack by shipping just over 6 million smartphones in the first quarter. The sustained sales of company's Galaxy J-series in the established offline retail segment has helped Samsung firm maintain its firm grip in its market share. However, its position is now under threat from Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo. A recent Strategy Analytics report even suggested that Xiaomi is the most preferred brand among smartphone buyers in India.

Canalys notes that Xiaomi accounted for 14 percent of smartphone shipments in India in the first quarter. The company shipped nearly 4 million smartphones in Q1 registering a sequential growth of 3 percent from same period last year. "Xiaomi's success in India is underscored by its online go-to-market strategy. Demonetization seems to have had no impact on it, as its target customer is young, Internet-enabled and primarily buys online," said Canalys Research Analyst, Ishan Dutt.

Vivo's shipments surpassed 10 percent of total shipments for the first time in this quarter. The company registered a growth of 36 percent in sequential shipments and was just shy of shipping 3 million units. "vivo's ability to drive sales by investing in marketing campaigns has seen it displace local vendors that once thrived in this space," said Mo Jia, Research Analyst.

Lenovo moved up a place to take the fourth spot, while Oppo fell back to fifth position. Canalys says Indian smartphone market is poised to grow further, but online only players are likely to suffer due to new regulations and GST reforms.

Courtesy by digit.in