Demand for mobiles, smartwatches plunges

A decline in electronics sales in Jan-March signals challenging year ahead

- Shouvik Das

The anticipated upturn for electronics sellers at the start of 2025 seems to have stalled. Analysts and retailers that Mint spoke with reported low footfalls in stores and weak online demand, with key volume drivers like smartphones and smartwatches underperforming.

A decline in electronics sales in the first three months of 2025 (January-March) signals a challenging year ahead for the industry. Over the past five years, smartphone sales have dipped three times, and smartwatches twice.

"There is a very, very low organic demand for new smartphones, and the phase when smartwatches suddenly saw consumer interest has also disappeared. Right now, no buyer is asking for any of the inexpensive smartwatches, because they are finding little value in them—even as a freebie in some cases," said Manish Khatri, a partner at Mumbai-based electronics retailer Mahesh Telecom.

Market figures, too, mirror this. Data from market researcher IDC India showed that in the first three months of 2025, overall phone sales dropped 6% year-on-year.