• Flash drive remained the top contributor with 74% share.
• MicroSD card shipments decreased by 23% YoY.
• 32GB capacity was most popular with 43% share.

Gurugram/New Delhi, Aug 29, 2023: According to CMR’s India Consumer Storage Flash Devices Market Review Report for Q2 CY2023 released today, the India Consumer Storage market (Micro SD, Flash drive and SD card) shipments recorded 6% YoY growth in Q2 CY2023.

Shipra Sinha, Lead Analyst, CyberMedia Research said “While the Flash drive market has been the growth driver, the MicroSD card shipments have faced a consistent decline. This decline is attributed to the increasing popularity of smartphones with larger internal storage capacities. In Q2 2023, there was 24% YoY increase in shipments of smartphones without memory card slots. This shift has disrupted the MicroSD card market, resulting in minimal growth. On the contrary, the Flash drive market saw a substantial YoY growth of 24%.”

Q2 CY2023 Highlights

SanDisk was the leader with market share of 64%. HP secured the second spot, its shipments recorded 39% YoY growth. Kingston occupied the third position with a significant 98% YoY growth in its shipments. The lesser-known brands collectively captured 14% market share.

The 32GB capacity segment continued to be the top contributor with share of 43%. Following closely, the 64GB capacity segment captured 25% of the market share with 26% YoY growth in its shipments.

Future Trends

CMR anticipates the Micro SD cards market to grow marginally by the end of CY2023. In contrast, the flash drive market is anticipated to grow 10%-15% YoY by the end of CY2023. This expansion will be primarily fueled by the increasing demand for OTG (On-The-Go) drives, renowned for their ability to facilitate rapid data transfers with utmost convenience.

“We anticipate Q3 2023 to witness increased shipments, driven by the upcoming festive season. However, the prevalence of smartphones with extensive internal memory and the absence of memory slots will pose challenges for MicroSD cards. The promising features offered by OTG drives will become the primary factor for future growth of flash drives market. All said, the demand for MicroSD cards remains relevant in devices that have fixed internal storage. Despite facing some decline MicroSD cards still find utility in various applications, this is expected to catalyze its future growth.” added Shipra.

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.