New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS): The average selling price of an smartphone has fallen by 2 per cent to reach Rs 11,500 in the India market, with 84 per cent of shipments now coming in the sub-Rs 15,000 range (29 per cent even below Rs 7,000), driven by e-learning, according to a new IDC report.

The mid-range segment (Rs 15,000 to Rs 37,000) declined year-on-year, as consumers held back on upgrading to a more expensive smartphone due to economic uncertainties.

The premium segment ($37,000 and above) witnessed a strong growth of 91 per cent where Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus continued to be the top three players.

Apple also launched its online store in the third quarter, offering a wide range of first-time services.

"IDC expects the low-end and mid-range segment to continue being the volume driver. As consumer sentiment improves in the next few quarters, upgrades and affordable 5G offerings in the US$200-500 segment is expected to drive growth," said Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

eTailers led the online channel share reaching an all-time high of 48 per cent in Q3, growing by a healthy 24 per cent (YoY).

Cautious consumers preferred online purchases as they were driven by promotions and sale events on eTailer platforms.

"Offline channels registered a moderate 11 per cent YoY growth after a challenging first half of the year. New launches had severe supply constraints in offline channels," the IDC report mentioned.

While original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) launched more low-priced smartphones, they upped the game on specifications with more phones featuring quad-cameras, high megapixel counts (48MP and above), more storage (64GB and above), bigger batteries (5000mAH and above), etc. even as prices declined.

A total of 25 million feature phones were shipped in the third quarter, a decline of 30 per cent YoY.

As a result, the overall mobile phone market shipment dropped by 4 per cent YoY, with feature phones accounting for only 31 per cent share.