Smartphone Shipments to Decline by 12% Globally Due to COVID-19

Smartphone shipments to dip by almost 12% in 2020 globally claims a market research firm IDC. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected the business supply chain networks with notable smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung reporting financial hits, but it also has limited consumer spending across the world.

Increasing unemployment and lockdowns nationwide have brought down confidence amongst the consumers and reprioritised their spending towards essential goods. This has directly impacted the sales of smartphones within a short period, said IDC ‘s senior research analyst, Sangeetika Srivastava.

Apple was compelled to shut down retail stores in Europe and the United States following the COVID-19 outbreak, and announced iPhone 11 discounts in China. Apple also launched a new low-priced iPhone SE model to meet the global demand for smartphones.

Also Read: Global Smartphone Sales Dip By 20% in Q1 2020 Due to COVID-19

TrendForce, a research firm, mentioned in April that global smartphone production is expected to drop by 16.5% in the June quarter when compared to a year earlier. In the March quarter, there was a 10% decrease in the output worldwide when the coronavirus spread and the pandemic peaked in China before spreading through the United States and Europe. 

Nevertheless, China’s factory shipments to vendors increased by 17% in April from the previous year, recommending signs of an early rebound concerning domestic demand within the world’s largest smartphone market. In China, where the economy has started to reopen, and factories have resumed activities, IDC anticipates a single-digit decline this year. 

The research firm also anticipates the forthcoming 5G rollout to help restore smartphone shipments next year, adding that it does not expect the development to return until the first quarter of 2021.

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