New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS): Shipping 21 million units, India's smartphone market registered 42 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth in October driven by multiple online sale festivals and continuing pent up demand from the third quarter of the year, industry tracker International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Thursday.

This is the highest ever October shipments and the second highest for a month, following 23 million units in September 2020, an all-time high for a single month, said the report.

The top five brands - Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Realme and OPPO - together grabbed nearly 90 per cent of the India smartphone market share in October, according to IDC India Monthly City-Level Smartphone Tracker.

"In 2019, a total of 140 million smartphones were sold in India. IDC expects 2020 to exit with a single digit decline in final consumer sell out," Upasana Joshi , Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said in a statement.

"Though the first half of 4Q20 will witness high sales owing to festivities, the second half will be lean with a cyclical dip as inventory cycles normalise and stocks get replenished."

With a 51 per cent share, online channel aggression continued in October, growing by 53 per cent YoY, said the report, adding that offline channels, especially in smaller towns and cities, also saw a healthy 33 per cent YoY growth.

The low-midrange segment - $100-$200 (in the approximate range of Rs 7,000-Rs 15,000) grew by 60 per cent YoY, as its share increased to 58 per cent of the total market.

The midrange segment ($200-$300) accounted for almost a fourth of the devices sold in October, said the report. Samsung led in 36 of the top 50 cities of India.

The premium segment registered 16 per cent YoY growth in October, with Apple leading the market in 49 of the top 50 cities, said the report.