Lower than expected smartphone sales during Diwali might push brands to extend offer duration: Report

This year's festive season has not been able to bring too much of happiness for the smartphone market. The reason for this becomes evident as major smartphone brands still have stocks of smartphones to clear. Thanks to the lower than expected demand of smartphones during the festive season, the Diwali discounts and offers provided by these brands might get extended for few more weeks or even months.[caption id="attachment_3952769" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters.[/caption]According to a report by The Economic Times, the third quarter from July to September recorded highest ever shipment with 40 million devices shipped during the period. But that turned out to be a problem with early onset of festive season this year.With so many discount sales taking place in that quarter, sales had been slow during the festive season. An analyst told ET that earlier sales had already satiated the consumer's appetite for smartphones, leaving few interested in buying one during the festive season. Because of this one can expect brands or sellers to continue with schemes or discounts in November and December.Both the reasons including a massive sale or oversupply in the third quarter and earlier onset of festive season are the expected reasons behind the lower than expected demand during the festive season.November and December usually account for the 'lull' period when it comes to the sale of the smartphones.The next shopping season comes during the New Year's Eve, which gives another reason for smartphone brands to offer discounts during these months to get as much as they can from these slow business periods said a senior analyst at International Data Corporation India.The report mentioned that the offline sales are more affected as compared to the online sales.