According to Gartner, due to COVID-19 crisis, smartphone sales have decreased by 20.2% globally in the first quarter of 2020. The demands of consumers deteriorated since they stopped spending on non-essential goods during the first quarter due to the complexities the pandemic caused.
Each of the top five smartphone vendors reported a decline in the first quarter of 2020, except Xiaomi, which achieved a remarkable 1.4% growth.
High sales of Redmi devices in international markets and strong online channel focus has led Xiaomi to achieve better than anticipated revenues, according to a study entitled “Market Share: PCs, Ultramobiles and Cell Phones, All Countries, 1Q20 Update.”
“The coronavirus pandemic has caused the global smartphone market to witness the worst downturn ever,” said Anshul Gupta, the Senior Research Analyst at Gartner.
Many of the leading Chinese manufacturers and Apple have been severely impacted by the temporary closure of their factories in China and decreased spending amongst consumers.
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Even though Samsung’s smartphone sales decreased by 22.7% in the first quarter of 2020, the company remained No. 1 with a market share of 18.5%. COVID-19 adversely affected Samsung’s smartphone sales throughout the quarter.
Since Samsung has a limited presence in China and the location of its manufacturing facilities are out of China, a sharp decline has been avoided. The decrease could have been worse otherwise.
Huawei indicated the worst performance amongst the top 5 global smartphone vendors during the first quarter of 2020. Sales of Huawei’s smartphones dropped to 42.5 million units, slipped to 27.3% year on year. Even with the first-ever drop in smartphone sales, Huawei remained No. 2 with a market share of 14.2%.
Huawei has formed the Huawei Mobile Service (HMS) ecosystem; however, due to lack of widely known Google apps and Google Playstore, it is unlikely that Huawei will attract new smartphone buyers in the international markets.
Though Apple is not as dependent on China as Oppo, Huawei, or Vivo, it encountered store closures and supply constraints that adversely affected iPhone sales during the first quarter of 2020.
Apple’s iPhone sales decreased by 8.2%, equivalent to 41 million units in the first quarter of 2020. Oppo ‘s smartphone revenue fell by 19.1% in the first quarter of 2020. According to Gartner, all other businesses together suffered a revenue loss of 24.2%.
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Bhavana is a Senior Content Writer handling the GST vertical. She is committed, professional, and has a flair for writing. When away from work, she enjoys watching movies and playing with her son. One thing she can’t resist is SHOPPING! Her favourite quote is: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.
