Smartphone sales add to Surat’s diamonds and silk, as the city leads ultra-premium smartphone sales in Tier-II cities, surpassing major metros and capturing 24 per cent of the Indian market share.
Traditionally known as the ‘diamond city’ and ‘silk city’, Surat is now emerging as a major market for ultra-premium smartphones, defying expectations that such devices would be limited to India’s major metropolitan areas.
A Business Standard report cited that despite being a Tier-II city, Surat has become the fifth-largest market for smartphones priced above ₹245,000, holding a significant 24 per cent share of this market as of October 2024, according to recent data from Counterpoint Research.
This surge has positioned Surat ahead of four leading Tier-I cities, including Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai.
The ultra-premium smartphone range includes high-end models from Apple, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series, OnePlus, vivo, Google, and Xiaomi, with prices ranging from ₹245,000 to upwards of ₹150,000.
The data further shows that sales from India’s top 30 cities dropped from 40 per cent in September 2024 to 37 per cent by October, as demand from Tier-II and smaller cities surged, now accounting for a dominant 71 per cent of the market share.
While India’s larger cities, such as Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, continue to lead the ultra-premium segment, the growing influence of smaller cities like Surat sparks a trend: the expansion of smartphone brands seeking to tap into aspirational demand across the country.
Within Tier-II cities, Surat leads, followed by Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, and Nagpur, each securing a share of 0.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent. The shift towards premium models has been evident throughout the year, as the segment’s share of total smartphone sales grew from 10 per cent in May 2024 to 18 per cent in October.
Mumbai remains the largest market, contributing 8.1 per cent of ultra-premium sales, followed by Delhi-NCR with 7.4 per cent and Bengaluru with 4.2 per cent.
Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint, pointed out that the growing consumption of premium smartphones in smaller cities is primarily driven by Apple’s influence in creating aspirational demand.
He also highlighted the role of e-commerce platforms and financing schemes, such as EMIs, which provide consumers with more flexibility in purchasing high-end devices without needing large upfront payments.
