India Consumer Storage Market Grows 22% YoY in Q1 2024: CMR

Picture of Prabhu Ram, Head - Industry Intelligence Group

Prabhu Ram, Head - Industry Intelligence Group

  • Pen drive category continued its dominance with 62% share.
  • MicroSD card shipments recorded 60% YoY growth.
  • SD card shipments recorded 7% YoY growth.

Gurugram/New Delhi, May 27, 2024: According to CMR’s India Consumer Storage Flash Devices Market Review Report for CY2024 released today, the India Consumer Storage market (MicroSD, Pen drive and SD card) shipments recorded 22% YoY growth in Q1 CY2024. The market shipments also increased by 32% QoQ in Q1 2024.

Commenting on the consumer storage market trends, Swati Kalia, Analyst – Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research highlighted, “With the start of the new year, market shipments experienced a notable increase. This overall rise is largely attributed to the Flash drive market, which holds the largest share at 62%. Additionally, Micro SD cards captured 35% of the market, driven by significant contributions from renowned brands and over 100% YoY growth in shipments from lesser-known brands.”


Q1 2024: Market Leaders and Key Trends

SanDisk was the leader with a market share of 56%.

HP secured the second spot with a 7% share, and Samsung captured the third position with 98% YoY growth in its shipments.

The lesser-known brands collectively captured 19% market share, demonstrating a remarkable YoY growth of 120% in their shipments.

The 32GB capacity was the most popular segment with a share of 33%. The 64GB capacity segment captured 24% of the market share. 128GB capacity shipments recorded a significant 38% YoY growth.

Future Growth Outlook

CMR anticipates a single-digit decline for the microSD card market by the end of 2024, while the pen drive market is expected to achieve a 15-20% YoY growth. Cloud storage is seen as a key factor impacting microSD cards, while pen drives are gaining traction for their convenient data management on the go.

“Q2 2024 shipments are anticipated to increase with the start of the new fiscal year. The growing trend of smartphones without a microSD slot and with large internal memory will continue to put pressure on the microSD card market. However, pen drives are gaining momentum as a convenient solution for mobile data management. To revive the microSD card market in India, manufacturers should target budget-conscious users, gamers, and professionals. Focusing on affordability, high performance, and clear product information will be critical. Additionally, a shift towards larger capacity is expected to meet evolving user needs.” added Swati.

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.