Gurugram/New Delhi, May 29, 2025: According to CyberMedia Research’s (CMR) India Consumer Storage Flash Devices Market Review Report for Q1 2025, the consumer storage market—comprising Micro SD cards, SD cards, and pen drives—recorded a 16% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth, even as overall shipments declined 19% year-over-year (YoY). SanDisk is the #1 in Camera card space in Q1 of 25 with 75% market share.
According to Mukesh Sharma, Senior Analyst,-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR), “The consumer storage landscape is evolving as smartphones with larger built-in memory reduce dependence on external storage. Yet, MicroSD cards saw a 14% QoQ growth, driven by niche applications such as action cameras and drones.”
SD card shipments fell slightly by 3% QoQ, showing signs of stabilization after a steep 25% YoY drop due to declining use in cameras. Meanwhile, pen drives dominate with a 68% market share and 12% QoQ growth, benefiting from steady demand for portable, easy-to-use storage.
“These trends highlight a market adapting to changing consumer preferences, where specialized storage solutions remain important despite broader shifts toward integrated and cloud-based options,” added Mukesh.
Capacity Trend:
• Flash Drives: The 32GB capacity remains the top choice, contributing 41% to the market share.
• Micro SD Cards: The 8 GB segment accounts for 26% of the market.
Market Leaderboard:
• Pen Drives: SanDisk leads with an impressive 74% market share in Q1 2025, followed by HP at 5% of shipments.
• Micro SD Cards: SanDisk commands an equally impressive 45% market share, with Samsung in second place at 7% share.
Future Outlook
In CY2025, the MicroSD card market is projected to grow by approximately 5%, supported by expanding digital usage and the increasing adoption of smartphones, tablets, and portable devices equipped with high-resolution cameras.
In contrast, CMR estimates the flash drive segment to grow between 6% and 8% YoY, buoyed by rising adoption of USB 3.2 and USB-C standards, which address the growing demand for higher-speed and more efficient data transfer.
“Across the consumer storage landscape, consumer preferences are shifting toward high-capacity, high-speed, and durable solutions. As digital content creation surges, innovations catering to use cases like 4K/8K video and gaming will shape market momentum,” added Bhaskar Negi, Analyst – Industry Intelligence Group (IIG) at CyberMedia Research (CMR).
Notes for Editors
1. CyberMedia Research (CMR) is a pioneering market intelligence and consulting firm that runs a comprehensive quarterly market update on the India Consumer Storage market. CMR’s India Quarterly Consumer Storage Flash Memory Market Review covers Micro SD cards, SD cards and Flash drives sold via distributors and retail outlets. The report accounts for ‘legal’ shipments but does not include bundled or ‘grey’ market shipments or units brought from abroad by individuals as a part of personal baggage.
2. CMR uses the term “shipments” to describe the number of consumer storage flash memory devices leaving the factory premises for OEM sales or stocking by distributors and retailers. For the convenience of media, the term ‘shipment’ is sometimes replaced by “sales” in the press release, but this reflects the market size in terms of units of consumer storage flash memory devices and not their absolute value. In the case of flash memory devices imported into the country, it represents the number leaving the first warehouse to OEMs, distributors and retailers.
