Mobile phone accessories are as important as a mobile phone in day-to-day life. Most of us would find it difficult to survive without a mobile phone and bare minimum set of accessories. Be it power banks, earphones or smartwatches, these accessories are a must-have these days. Thereby, creating a market that is growing by leaps and bounds year-on-year and is hard to ignore.

A recent study on the mobile phone accessories market in India reveals that rapid increase in sales of mobile accessories is directly proportional to the sale of smartphones in the country. The mobile phone market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.6% from the period of 2014 to 2020. Consequently, the mobile phone accessories market would also continue to grow and is expected to reach $107.3 billion by 2022.

Major Factors Driving Growth of Smartphone Market in India

The rise in the overall Indian smartphone industry is influenced by a number of factors. Mostly, these factors are propelling a shift in the consumer preference from feature phones to smartphones.

Rapid Urbanization

The population in urban areas is increasing. Spending capacity, too, has increased. With mobile phones becoming an indispensable part of urban life, more and more consumers are spending on smartphones and accessories.

Decrease in the Prices of Smartphones

With the growth in market size, the number of players in the market has increased. Competition among mobile phone companies and ever-increasing volumes has pushed the prices down significantly. Now the smartphones are within the reach of common users, which is further contributing to volumes.

Network Connectivity

The service provided by the telecom companies has also improved by several notches. This has facilitated the increased adoption of smartphones by people across different strata of society that provides them access to the digital world.

E-commerce Shopping Websites

The influx of e-commerce websites has had a role to play in growing the mobile phone market in India – both by usage and by the sale of mobile phone itself.

While the money muscle of the e-commerce giants was used by them to increase their sales, it had a direct effect on uptake of smartphones by the Indian buyers. Vertical e-commerce companies focused on mobile phone accessories sector also led to an increase in demand for accessories.

Several exclusive launches that were heavily advertised, sold a lot of units. Communication of the “app-only” discounts brought in awareness about the benefits that a smartphone offered over a feature phone. “Apps”, as most people know it today, is something that is available on a smartphone only and makes life easy, in one way or the other; thanks to the big ad spenders of the e-commerce industry.

Social Media

There are many social media apps and websites that keep the user connected to the outside world while staying at home. All this has become possible with the help of the features available in the smartphones.  In the current scenario, all the e-commerce players like Flipkart, Amazon, LatestOne.com & PayTM are engaging with their target audience using the power of social media platforms.

Major Factors Affecting Demand for Mobile Phone Accessories in India

The increase in the sale of smartphones in India has resulted in the rise in the sale of mobile phone accessories. Smartphones offer various features like camera, multimedia messaging, music, internet, location-based services and data storing and sharing. Mobile accessories further enhance the value of these features: like headphones, travel chargers, protective cases, power banks, USB cables, wireless speakers, memory cards, Bluetooth devices and selfie stick. Brands like Syska, PTron, Philips, etc are providing a wide range of accessories to the consumers at an affordable range.

Wireless Accessories

With changing times, consumers have evolved and so have their choices. The focus has shifted towards easy and comfortable lifestyle – this simplification comes with a lot of additional technology in life. The wireless accessories for mobile phones satisfy this need. Wireless accessories, as insignificant as it may sound, ensure one does not have to spend time and effort in untangling wires. These allow the user to go about his or her daily chores without worrying about the wires.

Irregular Electricity and Power Distribution

Smartphones come with notoriously short battery life compared to the feature phones of yesteryears. The woes of a smartphone user are multiplied because of irregularity of power supply in smaller towns and hinterlands. To keep smartphone working in such situations and due to inadequate charging points in public spaces, users are increasingly opting for power banks. This has led to the spurt in demand for power banks in India.

Social Trends

The popularity of social media and internet has resulted in the rise in the demand for mobile phone accessories. The purchasing capacity of the common user has increased which has shifted its focus from low price range to mid and high price range smartphone accessories. Online shopping has also triggered the demand for the mobile phone accessories in India. These online stores sell the latest accessories available in the market at competitive prices and have, thus, become the most preferred distribution channel for buying smartphone accessories in India.

Technological Advancements

Notably, until a few years ago, mobile accessories meant the charger, data cable and earphones. With the technological advancement, users in India are getting more inclined towards the high tech mobile accessories like Bluetooth devices, power banks, wireless headphones, etc.

Strong Distribution Network

Mobile phone accessories have also become a style statement these days. The branded stores provide a wide range of mobile phone accessories which are colorful, unique and trendy. The companies offering these accessories have a strong distribution network to promote and sell their accessories.

With all these factors driving growth, both businesses and consumers are in for some exciting times. Growth, as the popular belief goes, drives innovation. In India vice versa too is equally true!