Beyond iPhone: Apple’s Omnichannel Retail Push In India Is Paying Off

May 2023: A month after visiting India to open the tech giant’s first store in the country, Apple CEO Tim Cook tells analysts: “India is at a tipping point”.

More than two years later, Cook’s bullishness seems to have paid off handsomely. Apple reportedly earned a record high $9 Bn from India in FY25, marking a 13% year-on-year (YoY) increase. 

While Apple’s ‘Make In India’ push is well-publicised and increasingly involves more locally manufactured components, the revenue growth is a vindication of Apple’s slow-burn strategy. 

Overall, the company’s exports of iPhones from India rose 76% and stood at INR 1.50 Lakh Cr (free on board value) in FY25. Cook also claimed that India delivered record revenue in the April-June quarter of 2025 on the back of double-digit gains across iPhones, Macs and services. 

Plus, Apple is said to have exported a record $10 Bn (about INR 88,730 Cr) worth iPhones from India between April and September, reflecting a 75% jump from $5.71 Bn in the same period last year. 

And while Apple has always had its fans in India, many feel this is just the beginning of Apple’s massive push into the world’s largest market outside of China. At the heart of it all are Apple Stores — now in most major cities — and a sharp focus on leveraging India’s ecommerce ecosystem for hardware and services through omnichannel strategies. 

Essentially, Apple has built an ecommerce and retail giant in a matter of two years. A lot of credit has to go to the brand itself, but there’s more to it than is obviously apparent. Let’s see how Apple got here.

Brand Apple Grows 

Apple India is no longer a brand confined to a select affluent class — it’s fast becoming a mainstream force in the country’s smartphone market. The company retained its position among the top players in India, expanding its value share to 23% during the April–June 2025 quarter.

This year’s iPhone 17 series has seen unprecedented demand in India. Pre-bookings are 19% higher than last year’s iPhone 16.

Plus, Apple’s India-based partners are reportedly producing all variants of the new iPhone lineup for domestic sales and exports. This is the first time Apple is shipping all new variants of an iPhone from India right from launch.

Apple’s hand was forced in many ways by the geopolitical tensions between the US and China, and India’s manufacturing ecosystem has certainly reaped the benefits. By 2026, Apple is expected to shift its entire assembly line for US-bound iPhones to India. The manufacturing push is a major factor behind brand Apple growing in India, particularly when it was combined with the retail push in 2023. 

“India is experiencing a significant shift in its smartphone market, driven by consumer maturity and a desire for more advanced devices. As a result, the trend of premiumisation is accelerating, with a growing number of people buying their third or fourth smartphone,” said Neil Shah, the cofounder of Counterpoint Research.

According to Shah, upgrading to a premium device is no longer just a luxury in India; it’s seen as a necessity for a reliable and modern experience, from communication and content consumption to creation and commerce. The segment of phones priced above INR 45,000 now accounts for nearly a quarter of all smartphones sold in India.

With the iPhone 17 launch timed before the festival season, the company is set to ride a fresh wave of demand. And the foundation of this next leg of growth is one single pillar: retail growth.

Apple India’s Retail Expansion

When it comes to the retail presence, everything hinges around the premium Apple Store experience. After Mumbai and Delhi in 2023, a third store was added in September in Bengaluru, and more in store for Pune and Noida. 

In its typical fashion, the company has taken a lot of time to expand its retail presence. Even though the first store was opened in 2023, Apple did not rush to open new stores. This is central to understanding the exclusivity and premiumness associated with Apple Stores. 

But the progression mirrors Apple’s top five cities in India — Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad — by sales, Shah added. By strengthening its retail footprint across these key metros, Apple is clearly targeting the country’s most lucrative consumer bases.

 “Apple’s physical stores are not merely sales points; they are beacons of the brand. Every new store opening facilitates the firm to push its ecosystem further into the Indian consumer mind,” a retail analyst at one of the Big 4 consultancy firms commented.

Apple Stores are deliberately designed to be as engaging as possible, he said, through a combination of architectural elegance, customised service, and seamless connectivity with the Apple ecosystem. All aspects, from the glass elements to the entrance to the iconic Genius Bar, are carefully crafted to endorse the premium positioning and elegance associated with Apple.

Research by Counterpoint claims a majority of consumers looking to spend over INR 45,000 prefer to get a look and feel for the phone, the design and colours. For premium brands like Apple, this is a vital factor. Google is also following Apple’s lead when it comes to retail presence. 

“Apple isn’t just selling products; it’s selling a way of life; one that’s from the store to your pocket,” added the consultant. “Its expansion through retail is a means of scaling exclusivity while retaining control over the customer experience.”

The offline store network also acts as an effective marketing tool. Every new Apple store opening sparks high-profile media coverage and social buzz, reinforcing the brand’s aspirational appeal even among non-buyers. 

More importantly, these stores play a pivotal role in driving adoption across Apple’s wider ecosystem, from wearables and accessories to services like iCloud, Apple Music, and AppleCare+. With the launch of its own stores, Apple has begun attracting a much broader base of new consumers who now get to experience the Apple ecosystem firsthand.

While Apple loyalists have always existed, even before the company’s first store in India, this was a small subset of the larger affluent consumer base, said Lloyd Mathias, an angel investor and the former head of marketing at PC maker HP. 

“Now, everyone wants to be seen at an Apple Store,” added another analyst. 

Ecommerce & Omnichannel Strategy: Seamless Integration Meets Scale

Omnichannel is the name of the game for retail in India, and Apple is well in tune with this trend. The tech giant is constantly focussing on enhancing its online presence as well. For example, this year, Apple launched its “Shop with a Specialist over Video” feature in India, the second market to get this feature after the US..

Video sales execs help consumers discover features in the latest devices, and find out about financing or trade-in eligibility. This gives Apple a way to engage with consumers who may not visit a store. 

“Initiatives such as video assistance will expand the reach and bring Apple’s “high touch” sales to the mainstream. This direct access also helps Apple to learn first hand about local individual buyers and it can extend this to SMEs as well,” Shah said.

Apple’s omnichannel strategy involves other players too. Large format multibrand stores like Croma, Reliance Digital and others have become the other touchpoints along with resellers such as Unicorn, Imagine, Aptronix. Quick commerce giants such as Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, BigBasket and others have added to the pile of channels for Apple in India. 

Earlier this year, Apple also launched the Apple Store app in India, further blurring the lines between its digital and retail presence.

“Apple’s Indian omnichannel play is not about convenience. It’s about control. By controlling both the physical and digital retail stack, Apple is able to guarantee that each customer touchpoint bolsters the brand’s premium credentials. Moreover, the stronger its direct-to-customer play is, it can offset revenue shared with mainstream ecommerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart,” Mathias added.

D2C sales enhance Apple’s margins by cutting dependency on third-party stores and marketplaces such as Amazon or Flipkart. So the native digital experience is critical to back the premium in-store experience.  

Services & Subscriptions: Creating Recurring Revenue

While iPhones are Apple’s top-line product in India, its future growth driver is in its services ecosystem, a segment that helps generate recurring, high-margin revenues apart from device sales. 

In the April-June quarter, Apple’s paid accounts and subscriptions reached new all-time highs globally, with transacting and paid accounts growing double digits year-over-year across the services and software vertical. Revenue for the June quarter was $27.4 Bn, up 13% from a year ago and an all-time record, Apple spokesperson said in its quarterly earnings call.

In India too, this segment is picking up momentum with the same force driven by increasing digital adoption and a growing number of device owners. Earlier this year, Apple partnered with Amazon to offer its video streaming service, Apple TV+, as an add-on subscription through Prime Video in India, a move that could expand its user base in the country. The service is available to Amazon Prime members for a monthly fee of INR 99.

In India, Apple also partnered with Airtel to bundle Apple TV+ and Apple Music with the telecom operator’s premium postpaid and broadband plans.

Apple’s playbook is simple: hardware as the onboarding point and services as the stickiness layer. Each iPhone purchase is a gateway to many recurring revenue streams. The more people are using Apple Music, TV+, or App Store, the greater their ARPU and deeper their level of integration into the Apple ecosystem.

Services push fits with global trends as well; lessening Apple’s dependence on device sales, which are subject to economic cycles or production bottlenecks. Subscription-based revenue provides stability, predictability, and scalability. In India, where iPhone penetration is increasing but remains below 10%, this model enables Apple to monetise users on various devices, including older ones.

It has added UPI and domestic card networks for easier payments and deployed regionally optimised pricing to spur uptake. As India’s digital content and OTT viewing grow, Apple’s services offering is at the cusp of premium entertainment, productivity, and cloud storage — all supporting its long-term strategic pursuit of ecosystem-driven growth.

Apple will always lead with hardware as that’s the foundation of its business. Selling iPhones, MacBooks, and iPads remains its primary growth engine, with products like AirPods already enjoying massive popularity among younger consumers. For now, Apple’s India strategy will remain largely product-centric, Mathias said.

However, as more users enter and settle into the Apple ecosystem, the company will increasingly begin to monetise its suite of services, from iCloud and Apple Music to Apple TV. These may currently represent smaller revenue streams, but they’re poised to grow steadily over time. Still, at this stage, hardware will continue to drive the lion’s share of Apple’s revenue in India.

Ecosystem Monetisation: Beyond Devices

Central to Apple’s strategy for India is ecosystem monetisation; a long-term strategy that combines hardware, software, and services to maximise customer lifetime value. 

In contrast with competitors who compete on price or specs, Apple takes advantage of seamless integration: iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods, and MacBooks all contribute to an integrated ecosystem of iCloud, the App Store, and subscriptions, and therefore engendering strong customer stickiness.

“These steps should bring a “flywheel effect” as Apple continues to see its user base increasing and they buy into other Apple portfolios and services which boost the overall ‘customer lifetime value,” Counterpoint’s Shah added.

India’s aspirational young population is ideally suited for Apple’s ecosystem model, valuing continuity, status, and convenience across devices. By expanding its retail footprint and manufacturing base, Apple is accelerating adoption of its ecosystem through accessories and services such as AppleCare+, iCloud, and Apple One bundle, strengthening both customer loyalty and ARPU.

This strategy also drives high-margin growth. Accessories and software subscriptions generate recurring profits well above those of core devices. The integrated ecosystem shields Apple from price wars — a user with iCloud, Apple Music, and connected wearables is fully invested, making them far less likely to leave the ecosystem.

[Edited by Nikhil Subramaiam]