NEW DELHI: India's smartphone market saw a 9% volume growth in the quarter to September, as companies focused on clearing inventory through both online and offline channels ahead of the festive season. However, early festive demand remained sluggish due to increasing food inflation and slow urban spending on consumer durables, said a report by Canalys."Most vendors aggressively shipped devices to meet festive demand, but weaker-than-expected traction will result in inventory buildup," said Sanyam Chaurasia, analyst at Canalys.Chinese firm Vivo claimed the top spot in India for the first time, capturing a 19% market share and shipping 9.1 million units during the July-September period amid an aggressive push across channels. Xiaomi secured the second spot, shipping 7.8 million units, driven by its budget 5G lineup, while Samsung came in third with 7.5 million units, Canalys said.Oppo (excluding OnePlus) and Realme completed the top five, shipping 6.3 million and 5.3 million units, respectively. Smartphone firms outside the top five saw another strong quarter. Apple saw strong demand for the iPhone 15 from the smaller cities ahead of its latest launch. Other brands, such as Motorola, Google andNothing, continued to see volume growth, aided by their unique design language, clean user interface and channel expansion strategies, the report said.114381710"In Q3, both replacement and upgrade buyers leaned toward higher-priced models due to expanded mid-to-high-end offerings, competitive trade-in deals, and accessible financing options. However, entry-level demand was weak as rising prices forced consumers to delay purchases until after Diwali," Chaurasia said.He added smartphone firms are reliant on offline sales before Diwali and will remain cautious about year-end inventory levels. Heavy discounting and extended channel margins will be essential to manage stock effectively in the second half of 2024, according to the research firm.Canalys has projected modest single-digit growth for 2025 as the Covid-19 pandemic-driven replacement cycle concludes in the first half of next year."Beyond the pandemic replacement cycle, the ultra-low end 5G push to remain critical for the market's organic growth in 2025," said Chaurasia. "Despite a few bills of materials challenges, the Indian smartphone market will see major launches of sub-Rs 10,000 5G devices next year, driven by a push from component vendors and OEMs."