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Mint
4 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Missing spark: Festive season may do little to lift smartphones out of three-year slump
New Delhi: India's smartphone retailers hope that the upcoming festival season will lift the largest consumer electronics category out of a three-year slump. That may turn out to be wishful thinking. Retailers have reported muted sales volumes so far this year, while analysts don't expect much growth in the full year, even after taking the festive bump into account. And demand for costlier devices is not enough to offset this trend. The first six months of this calendar year saw 68 million smartphones shipped to retailers, down from 70 million in the first half of last year, according to data from three market research firms—International Data Corp, Counterpoint and Cybermedia Research—analyzed by Mint. Meanwhile, the average selling price of smartphones rose 6% during this period—up to $274 per unit from $259 a year earlier. Demand so far could be a precursor to a fourth straight year of slowdown for the category. In 2021, the Indian smartphone market shipped 161 million devices—a scale that the industry has not been able to match since then. In 2022, this fell to 144 million and stayed almost flat at 146 million in 2023. In 2024, sales rose 3% to 151 million units. While the dip in sales volume has somewhat been offset by rising overall market revenue, the growth isn't significant. In 2021, the smartphone industry in India generated $35 billion in annual revenue at an average per-device price of $219, according to a consensus of the three market research firms cited above. With the second half of the year projected to grow at a low single digit, the current average price of $274 is likely to help the industry generate $41-42 billion in net annual revenue. That works out to a compounded annual growth rate of 3.7%, causing retailers to look beyond smartphones and brands to find ways to prop up sales through promotions. But such offers can hurt brands' operating margins in a value-conscious market like India. Not enough spark Retailers do see some sparks of growth. 'The month of July has seen strong sales and demand from consumers, driven by the launch of multiple flagship smartphones from Samsung and Vivo. In September, we expect to see new iPhones from Apple, which is typically a big demand-creator in the festive season," said Nilesh Gupta, founder and director of pan-India, multi-brand electronics retailer, Vijay Sales. 'Overall, this gives room for 4-5% growth in overall smartphone sales, even as the general volume of sales remains flat." Zeba Khan, director of consumer electronics at Amazon India, said this year, the e-commerce giant's 'Prime Day' sale was 'our biggest ever". 'We saw orders peaking at over 18,000 per minute. Smartphones delivered high double-digit year-on-year value growth, and we also saw robust growth in AI-enabled laptops, premium tablets, health-focused wearables, and premium audio—which saw strong double-digit growth. We have seen strong growth across the first half of this year, and expect an even stronger second half." Gupta and Khan, however, are uniquely positioned. Amazon and Vijay Sales are large, pan-India, cross-category operations, making them less reliant on smartphones. Amazon has over 30% market share in India's e-commerce industry—pegged at gross merchandizing value of $60 billion in March this year by Bain & Co. Vijay Sales relies on home appliances that see consistent seasonal surges in demand—washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators in the summer months; air purifiers around October; and room heaters and geysers in winter. This lets large retail operations stay immune to weak sales periods, and push for growth by focusing on sales of electronics categories that see seasonal surges in demand. However, for Manish Khatri, partner at Mumbai's multi-brand electronics retailer Mahesh Telecom, the tale is not so great. 'The first half of this year was very weak in terms of sales, but July has seen a strong surge driven by the launch of multiple flagship phones," he said. 'The next two months have multiple device launches lined up from the likes of Xiaomi and even Apple, which should theoretically help this demand sustain." According to Khatri, the market, however, remains 'difficult since organic demand for devices remains low, and footfall has gone down by volume—even as those coming in to stores are looking for premium devices priced upward of ₹50,000." Betting on offers The predicament is pan-India. Kailash Lakhyani, president of industry body All India Mobile Retailers Association (Aimra), said that due to persistently weak sales volumes, 'retailers are looking to expand into selling televisions, as well as home appliances, to make up for the downturn". Yet, they have not given up hope. '…[Retailers] are hoping for a return to form for the domestic smartphones market as it has been four years since most people bought smartphones," said Lakhyani. 'Since today's smartphones last for around four years, we're at a time when the festive season this year drives greater sales for retailers." Brands, however, have yet to share details on special offers and promotional programmes that retailers advertise to generate greater sales. A big reason for this is the availability of round-the-year offers on most electronics categories. 'There are three key offers in the market—instant cashback, bank discounts and zero-interest instalments, apart from exchange programmes. Most of these are available around the year, which is why customers typically buy devices nowadays when they need—instead of waiting for the festive period to come like before," Vijay Sales' Gupta said. Reliance Digital has yet to respond to Mint's queries on sales projections. Samsung declined to comment, while Vivo did not respond to their festive season sales expectations. In response to Mint's queries, a spokesperson for Oppo India said that the company will offer 'attractive benefits across price segments" during the upcoming festive season, without offering details. For Xiaomi India, Redmi Note 14 5G and the upcoming Redmi 15 will lead its festive portfolio, alongside a line-up of smart TVs, tablets, and AIoT products. 'We're supporting this with an omni-channel strategy. We're also seeing early demand, especially from consumers looking to shop in advance for gifting," said Sudhin Mathur, chief operating officer of Xiaomi India. 'To support this, we have planned attractive offers ahead of the main festive period—and are strengthening after-sales and service networks." Industry analysts, however, do not foresee a surge in demand. The 2025 festive season is likely to see 'modest, single-digit growth driven primarily by consumers upgrading or replacing their devices, fuelled by a slight rise in purchasing power following recent tax changes," said Prabhu Ram, vice-president of industry research at Cybermedia Research. 'The transition from feature phones continues to be slow, and upgrade intent remains weak amid limited innovation across new devices," said Ram. 'As a result, organic demand stays subdued, with sales largely driven by replacement cycles and promotional pushes."
Identity
11 hours ago
- Business
- Identity
Seven Days, Epic Savings and Deep Discounts:
Announces Prime Day from July 25 to 31, Exclusively for Prime Members Across Egypt Prime Day returns with hundreds of thousands of deals including up to 60% off Fashion, 50% off Electronics, 45% off Beauty, 45% off Everyday Essentials, 25% off Kitchenware, and more summer must-haves
Wall Street Journal
12 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
The Best Products the Buy Side Staff Bought During Prime Day
The discounts reflected in these deals may no longer be available. Here at Buy Side, we spend our days researching and testing the best products, from headphones to face washes to sneakers. Part of our job is knowing what separates a great deal from one that isn't worth your time and money, especially on major sale holidays like Amazon's Prime Day. Check out these deals on items our staffers already own and vouch for, plus the products they bought themselves during this summer's Prime Day sale.
Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Wall Street sees Amazon primed to outperform ahead of the tech giant's 2nd quarter results
Expectations are high going into Amazon 's second-quarter earnings call. Tariffs have been a concern for the e-commerce giant in 2025—back in April, news that Amazon was planning to display tariff costs on its website drew the ire of President Donald Trump—but Amazon's businesses have been resilient despite trade headwinds. The company quietly notched record sales in its Prime Day event earlier this month. Wall Street expects Amazon to report $162 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 9% year over year. Earnings per share are projected to come in at $1.33, up from $1.26 in the prior quarter. Of course, there's also the AI question. Amazon's earnings report comes after Alphabet and Microsoft's Q2 results, and those companies have set a precedent that Big Tech will continue to write big checks for AI investment. The stock is up a modest 6% year-to-date, with plenty of room for upside. Here's what top analysts across Wall Street are saying ahead of Amazon's second-quarter earnings. UBS: "Most-coiled" Big Tech company Amazon is shaping up to be one of the most undervalued Magnificent Seven companies, according to UBS analyst Stephen Ju. The stock's valuation was deeply revised downwards at the height of tariff volatility earlier this year, but it's poised for a comeback as trade deals solidify. "We believe Amazon to be 'most-coiled' among our coverage given the more extensive investments across e-commerce, AWS, content/advertising, and Kuiper," Ju wrote. "As revenue begins to show up more meaningfully, the upward revisions to operating profit and FCF dollars should prove more dramatic vs its peers." The e-commerce business is likely to continue seeing cost efficiencies through automation. Amazon also has a high-margin revenue source from its growing ad business, which should benefit as more companies increase their ad budgets in the second half of the year, according to UBS. UBS expects AI spending to continue rising. Ju is raising his 2025 capex forecast for Amazon from $107 billion to $112 billion, citing improving cloud infrastructure sentiment. The bank reiterated its "Buy" rating and raised its price target from $249 to $271, implying about 18% upside. Jefferies: E-commerce remains strong According to Brent Thill, senior technology research analyst at Jefferies, tariff fears and price increases have largely not materialized. Consumer demand has remained resilient, and inventory levels are stable going into the second half of the year. "Tariffs appear overstated for now, and Amazon remains the go-to destination for online deals and continues to draw strong consumer and brand engagement," Thill wrote in a recent note. Amazon Marketplace is dominated by large sellers, which are better positioned to absorb tariff shocks than smaller peers. The success of Prime Day further shows that Amazon continues to be a consumer favorite, beating out other retailers like Walmart, Target, and TikTok Shop, Thill said. The thriving e-commerce platform is also driving revenue to Amazon's ad business. "Brands are allocating a larger share of performance marketing budgets to Amazon, with Amazon Sponsored ads cited as the most efficient ad format," Thill wrote. Thill sees AWS emerging as the preferred platform for complex AI workloads, meaning that enterprise customers are increasingly turning to Amazon as they look to integrate AI into their business model. Jefferies maintains its "Buy" rating and has a price target of $265 for the stock, implying upside of about 14%. Bank of America: AWS will be key to future gains Justin Post, research analyst at Bank of America, believes Amazon's high-margin cloud computing business will be the key value driver going forward. Post will be looking for signs of AWS capacity increases that will lead to further AWS revenue growth in the second half of the year. Last quarter, Amazon said AWS growth was held back by chip shortages and energy constraints at its data centers. Post also expects Amazon's partnership with Anthropic to contribute significantly to the AWS business as the AI startup runs its training models on Amazon's infrastructure. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's new rules regarding bonus depreciation will also generate tax savings and a cash flow boost to Amazon later this year, the bank predicted. BofA recently raised its price target from $248 to $265, which implies 14% upside from current levels. Morgan Stanley: Lower tariffs and AWS growth drivers After lowering its outlook on the stock in light of the April tariffs, Morgan Stanley is bullish on Amazon again. The firm now sees the risk of a 145% China tariff as largely off the table. The stock is a "top pick," according to equity analyst Brian Nowak. He points to strength in both e-commerce and cloud computing. Nowak sees four reasons for AWS to accelerate going forward: Anthropic's growing contribution to AWS revenue could meaningfully scale from roughly $4 billion to $10 billion annually by next year. Non-Anthropic AWS revenue has remained resilient in light of GPU shortages. Non-GenAI AWS growth is gaining traction. Morgan Stanley's CIO surveys show AWS gaining IT budget share, particularly at the expense of Oracle and Google Cloud. On the retail side, the bank predicts that Amazon will capture around half of all incremental US e-commerce growth, thanks to an improving macro outlook and the company's scale and logistics infrastructure. Strategic moves like forward inventory buys and supplier renegotiations are also helping Amazon weather tariff shocks better than peers, Novak said. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock from $250 to $300, implying a 30% upside. In a bull case with faster AWS and retail growth, Novak sees the stock going to $350 in the next 12 months, a gain of more than 50%.
Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I spent 2 hours digging through the land mine that is Amazon Haul, the site's extreme discount section — here's what you'll find
There's a new discount destination to explore, and its name is Amazon Haul. I've only recently noticed this flashy section filled with a hodgepodge of items from all categories — from fashion and beauty to electronics — during Prime Day. This deals section is very reminiscent of what you may find on Temu, Shein, or TikTok Shop, but backed by the reliability of Amazon. After spending what felt like hours browsing, I found some real gems, and even some viral TikTok products, like Kate Spade dinner plates, a fair amount of Adidas and Under Armour clothing, and even a $3 bikini. At this point, I was far in, and I had to try it for myself. Amazon frequently offers extra discounts off your entire Haul purchase to incentivize you to try. That was the extra push I needed. During Prime Day, that deal was as high as 40% off, but right now it's 30%. I gave myself a cap of $50, and I was able to purchase 18 items. Would I shop again? Yes, but it takes patience to wade through. I'll get into some takeaways from my experience and highlight some hidden gems for you, below. Be sure to check out our roundup of the best Amazon coupons for more ways to save. A quick takeaway of my findings: I've spotted deals like $20 Adidas shorts or a $13 Timberland leather belt, but you can't get too excited; some sizing can be really spotty, and you may not find a full size run. If you care about brand names, you can browse through sections dubbed Brand Scores. Certain searches unlocked the ability to filter, including the options to browse through Top Brands and Premium Brands. Some items appear to be strictly available via Amazon Haul, while some are also integrated into the rest of the site. There is a lot of cheap junk, and if you like that sort of thing, amazing, but use the filters or the search bar to find what you're actually looking for. Beyond the general categories presented to me, I've used the search bar to direct me to everything from dog toys to gardening tools. My experience ordering from Amazon Haul After spending some serious time digging through, I was convinced to invest $50 of my own to buy 18 items. The most expensive item was a set of LCD motion-detection under-cabinet lights for $7 (with my discount). I installed one in my pantry and now my dark, deep cabinet is illuminated every time I open the door, and I can see my snacks. I haven't even needed to charge it yet. It's become my newest obsession; everyone should have these. The cheapest was a 35-cent ravioli-shaped silicone spoon rest. I couldn't resist ordering it for funsies to see if it is legit. It arrived as a perfectly acceptable size. Not everything was a winner. Some items, like a $3 pair of sunglasses, were unfortunately flops, and a $5 mesh beach tote was underwhelming. They both felt too small. A set of hair ties felt cheap, and I could feel them pulling at my hair. I did find success with a replacement remote for my Roku, underwear from Florence by Mills, and a travel-sized water flosser. Some of these items I came across by browsing the various categories, while others I found by directly searching for keywords of products I was interested in. A pair of pruning shears I directly sought out felt weighty, though the packaging was a little worn. My order arrived in two batches: some items coming right away at normal Prime speed, while the bulk of it was quoted as arriving within two weeks. Interestingly, one of the items even arrived packaged with my standard Amazon order. While I was tracking the second half of my delivery, I noticed an update saying that it was "Delayed at Customs" and more information may be needed from me, with a button to contact Amazon, which took me to the general customer service page. When I initiated a chat with Amazon's customer service, they said to wait until the three days after the expected delivery window and to reach out if it hadn't arrived by a certain date. Remarkably, it arrived on the exact date it was quoted. I didn't need to do anything else. Some gems I found on Amazon Haul LF Water Flosser for Teeth Cleaning and Flossing Pick $11.99 View at Amazon Amazon Haul FAQs What is Haul, and how does it work? Haul is Amazon's new storefront for exploring discounts and the lowest prices on a range of items, from fashion to household essentials. It's for the true bargain-hunter, and almost everything is under $20. The program launched in November 2024. Orders ship for free once you hit a $25 minimum threshold, and can take as long as two weeks to deliver. There are typically incentives to buy more as you unlock additional savings when you spend more: 5% on orders over $50, and an extra 10% off on orders over $75. Do you need a Prime membership to shop Amazon Haul? No. In fact, Haul purchases are ineligible for Prime benefits like expedited shipping. All Haul orders take 1-3 weeks to ship, and you'll need to hit a $25 minimum for free shipping — no matter your Prime membership status. Why are Amazon Haul prices so cheap? Amazon says it can offer such low prices because the items are sold directly from the manufacturer (usually from China or another country with low manufacturing costs), bypassing some costs associated with traditional warehousing and shipping. Are returns accepted? Yes, returns are accepted within 15 days on items that cost over $3, and return shipping is free. This differs from Amazon's standard 30-day policy.
