Memory-cost squeeze puts India’s smartphone retailers under fresh pressure

An AIMRA survey of 1,126 retailers found 61% sold fewer smartphones in H1 2026, with the ₹10,000-30,000 band facing the sharpest pressure as higher memory costs curb upgrades and strain independent stores ahead of festive demand.

— Filed Sun, 26 Jul, 2026, 21:02 IST · Source The Hindu BusinessLine · Updated

Rising memory and component costs are reducing Indian smartphone unit sales, especially in the ₹10,000-30,000 segment. Nearly half of surveyed retailers report declines and fear festive-season weakness, with smaller independent stores facing the greatest survival risk.

Why this matters

The signal extends AIMRA’s recent warning that memory-led handset price rises were putting independent smartphone retailers under festive-season pressure, adding survey evidence of weaker H1 2026 sales.

retail-company is accelerating, up 1,123,900% QoQ.