Mobile accessories: on a smart path

Sailing through the test of times, India has proudly emerged as the third largest economy of the world. It has not only proved its mettle across diverse sectors and but also surfaced as a lucrative market for various industries.

For instance, registering a growth of 17% in 2017, the Indian smartphone sector is booming as the third largest smartphone market in the world. The growing penetration and upward moving graph of the smartphone industry have simultaneously given the mobile accessories market an equal opportunity to develop and flourish.

India has always remained abreast of the time, technology and advancements. The Digital India campaign, that is striving to engage every Indian to come aboard the digital platform, is an example. Smartphones have played an intrinsic part in ensuring the last-mile reach of the campaign and its intention. Hence, smartphones have gone much beyond being just communication devices and emerged as an imperative aspect of everyday life. With the handy handset offering multiple facilities like camera, calculator, messaging, fitness apps etc, smartphones are a one-stop destination for every mode of communication that technology can put forward.

Meanwhile, mobile security and safety have become important concerns for users. So while users make sure they own the most advanced handset, they also do not mind going the extra mile to keep their mobile phones safe, trendy and in vogue. As a result, they has become the prime driving factor for the success of mobile accessories in India.

The Indian market

Interestingly, the term “mobile accessories” is not only restricted to fancy mobile covers, decorative stands or safeguards but also constitutes of supports like earphones, headsets, dongles, charger, memory cards and likewise. The active rise in our exposure to internet has given a significant impetus to the growth of mobile accessories market in India.

Undoubtedly, the rising inclination towards concepts like online streaming and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has been the other prime drivers of growth. However, technological advancements made in the field of mobile accessories have also given an equal push to the Indian mobile accessories industry to reach such unprecedented heights.

Based on the different type of products that the mobile accessories market can offer, reports have split the market pie into protective cases, chargers, headsets, batteries, memory cards, power banks, portable speakers and others, of which protective cases have taken the lion’s share.

According to industry reports, products such as protective cases for mobile phones and smartphones, and audio gear such as headphones and earphones are expected to hold ranks as the top-selling mobile phone accessories in India. All these products together are estimated to occupy more than one-third of the gross Indian mobile accessories market revenues by the end of 2026.

Drivers of growth

Apart from the above vital driving factors, availability of a strong distribution network and the zeal to gain a competitive advantage is making it easier for mobile accessories market to climb up the ladder. At present, India has innumerable multi-brand stores and online retailers of mobile phones and accessories which together form a strong network that make it possible to reach to the last mile.

Also, the slashing of the average selling price of overall accessories has further made the products affordable even for the middle and lower class people, which have enabled the market to expand its customer base.

Having said that, pullback factors like lack of standardisation, threat of privacy, counterfeit production of branded accessories like the ones imported from China, and the compulsion to adhere to competitive pricing in order to safeguard market hold continue to remain potent risks that can limit the burgeoning growth of the Indian mobile accessories market in the upcoming years.

Additionally, pirated and counterfeit products, offered at prices half or lower than that of original products, are further estimated to push India’s mobile phone accessories’ revenues to remain under the mid-price range by the end of 2026.

Fortunately, despite roadblocks, the Indian mobile accessories market is doing well by cashing in on the opportunities the smartphone market has to offer. As a result, experts have projected the accessories market to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% between FY 2016 and FY 2024, thereby expecting to garner $3.54 billion by the end of 2024.

(The writer is co-founder, Onlymobiles.com)