The gross merchandise value (GMV) of e-tailers witnessed a decline in the contribution from the mobile phones category in the first quarter of 2019 due to demand saturation, reduced discounting and related policy changes, states RedSeer Consulting.

Moreover, the first quarter saw fewer exclusive launches by mobile phone companies, which also led to the decline in sales.

Between January and March, 2019, the share of mobile phones fell to 38 per cent from 45 per cent in the corresponding period in 2018.

The share of mobiles in ecommerce will remain at around 35 per cent for the entire year, RedSeer has predicted.