The trend toward premiumisation is likely to gather further pace
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Shannon Stapleton
With market inflation in the smartphone segment worsening, smartphone financing such as NBFC, credit/debit card. EMI-based purchases are catching up to one-time payments by customers.Smartphone financing will account for 42 per cent of total smartphone sales in India in 2026, up from 35 per cent in 2025, as per Counterpoint Research. Rising smartphone prices, attractive no-cost EMI schemes, and increasing consumer preference for affordable monthly payments are expected to drive up this trend further.“India’s smartphone market has remained under pressure in the first half of the year due to rising memory prices, and this trend is expected to intensify further. Against this backdrop, smartphone financing is gaining ground as a primary purchase mechanism,” said Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counerpoint Research.Affordability OffersAmong financed smartphone sales overall, around 67 per cent of units are being financed by NBFCs. In Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, NBFCs can also help many new-to-credit customers looking for financing options. The research firm expects the coming festive season to be driven by these options, along with upfront discounts.“The onus is now on brands and channels, which will seek to capture demand through aggressive affordability offers like long-term EMIs and exchange schemes,” said Pathak.Further, Techarc also estimated such forms of smartphone purchases to trickle down from premium phone categories to lower tiers if prices continue to increase.“The financing is primarily in premium, smartphones sold above ₹30,000. We don’t see it yet substantial in the lower tiers, but the way prices are changing, this could happen especially during festive window,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst at Techarc. In an earlier report, Techarc had highlighted how consumers still prefer to buy brand new phones in installments rather than going for refurbished phones.Samsung leadsWithin the smartphone financing vertical, Samsung leads the market in terms of smartphone units sold through financing.“The company’s strategy to use Samsung Finance+ as well as other financing options is working in its favor. Besides, it provides the best tenures across price bands. Mainline retail-heavy brands, such as Samsung, vivo and OPPO, enjoy higher financing penetration, as mainline channels hold a distinct advantage of person-to-person interaction, and consumers often find it difficult to understand schemes on their own,” said Prachir Singh, Senior Analyst, Counterpoint Research.Currently, Samsung and Apple have been primarily seeing sales through financing and remain the top brands in this segment, as per Kawoosa. While this status quo has been the same since last year, the consideration of financing has now moved beyond limited to premium devices, or select A-series models in Samsun’s case, towards entire brand portfolios.Samsung now offers financing for its flagship S series as well as the more affordable A, M, and F series, making EMIs accessible across all major price segments.“More broadly, smartphone financing has emerged as one of the key purchase enablers in India and continues to gain traction, although one-time full payments (cash and full card payments combined) still account for a slightly larger share of smartphone purchases,” said Shubham Singh, Tech Analyst at Counterpoint Research.On the NBFC side, Bajaj Finance is the leading brand, followed by TVS Credit. With premium and mid-premium brands already leaning heavily on long-tenure EMIs to drive sales, the trend toward premiumisation is likely to gather further pace, supported by financing structures that make higher-value devices more accessible to a broader base of buyers.Published on July 3, 2026
