New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS): iPhone sales crossed 1.5 million units during the first week of festive sales in India for the first time ever, registering more than 25 per cent growth (year-on-year), a report showed on Friday.

The festive season smartphone sales grew 25 per cent (on-year) in value in the first week (October 8-15) driven by strong demand for Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi devices, according to Counterpoint Research.

Online channels, which experienced slow demand throughout the year, registered a bigger-than-expected surge in demand, prompting them to raise prices from the third day of the sales week.

Around 80 per cent of phones sold on Amazon and Flipkart during first 48 hours were 5G capable.

On Flipkart, the premium segment growth was almost 50 per cent YoY driven by the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S21 FE, while on Amazon, the segment growth was almost 200 per cent driven by the iPhone 13 and Galaxy S23 FE.

This year, the iPhone 14, iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 all experienced high demand, unlike a year ago when the iPhone 13 was the major driver.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE alsowitnessed strong sales. The model was sold out after two days of the sale on Flipkart.

The Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 price segment witnessed faster 5G upgrades as OEMs launched many devices ahead of the festive season.

The realme Narzo 60x 5G, Galaxy M14 5G and M34 5G were the top sellers on Amazon,while the vivo T2x was the top seller on Flipkart.

“We are witnessing strong demand for premium devices even after the first week of sales, driven by the availability of many financing and credit schemes, including per-day EMIs,” the report mentioned.

The strong consumer sentiment will continue in offline sales as well due to parity between offline and online discounts.

“Overall, we believe the festive season smartphone sales this year will grow 7 per cent YoY in terms of volumes while the average selling price (ASP) will grow 15 per cent YoY,” the report said.