Entry buyers use festive discount to buy mid-range phone

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Mid and Premium together account for 93% of expected festive demand, leaving 7% for everything above ₹50,000 and below ₹12,000

By BL Mumbai Bureau

Updated - October 17, 2026 at 05:03 AM.

Entry buyers are making the most of a festive discount by stretching to a mid-range phone, as per Techarc’s in its report focusing on the festive season.

The research firm reported that entry-level phones (up to ₹12,000) was the only price band where activity fell during the festive window, to 0.72 times its pre-season rate, while Premium (₹25,000–50,000) rose 2.13 times and Mid (₹12,000–25,000) rose 2.00 times, as per the India Smartphone Festive Season — Insights & Gain Score report.

“The discount ladder has inverted, and it has inverted regressively. The bands that carry the festive lift are precisely the ones where list prices rose most this year. Brands will be discounting against an inflated base, and buyers who tracked prices last season will notice. This year, a flat price is already a concession,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst, Techarc.

Mid and Premium together account for 93 per cent of expected festive demand, leaving 7 per cent for everything above ₹50,000 and below ₹12,000.

“Ten models carry a third of all demand and twenty carry half. Specifications have largely stopped separating winners — 5G now adds about 1 per cent to a phone’s price and faster charging nothing measurable — while buyer dissatisfaction has a large effect: five additional points of one-star share is associated with roughly 54 per cent lower selling rate,” said Techarc in its report.

Published on October 16, 2026

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