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Like many other industries, the smartphone industry is suffering from an uncertain global economic environment. The majority of manufacturers are thus facing a drop in demand.
After having largely benefited from strong demand during the pandemic, the smartphone industry is now looking gray. In any case, this is indicated by the data compiled by the research firm Canalys for the last quarter to date, which runs from April to June 2022. We learn that mobile shipments fell by 9 % compared to the same period the previous year. A significant drop.
Smartphone shipments fell in the second quarter of 2022. © Canalys
Samsung retains its first place with 21% market share. The South Korean giant was able to rely, in particular, on the sale of the most affordable smartphones in its Galaxy A range. Next comes Apple, which has a 17% market share. The Cupertino company continues to capitalize on the success of the iPhone 13, which allowed it to come back ahead of Xiaomi. The latter climbs to the third step of the podium with 14% of shares, followed by Oppo (10%) and Vivo (9%). In general, the Chinese behemoths saw their sales decline more markedly.
fear in the market
The reasons for this decline are manifold. The companies cited have faced less demand than expected, forcing them to revise their strategies for the coming quarters. As expected, consumers remained cautious in the face of galloping inflation, due in particular to the Ukrainian conflict or the resumption of Covid in certain regions.
The mid-range segment seems particularly affected by the reluctance of buyers, which leads to an oversupply on certain models.
The complicated economic situation, the drop in demand and the oversupply have forced sellers to quickly review their strategy for the rest of 2022. They are particularly focused on the saturated mid-range segment, but sales are slowing anyway because consumers tend to move towards even cheaper models.
This fall in demand is synonymous with great concern for the entire supply chain. The cost of materials is certainly starting to drop, but production and delivery problems remain.
Sellers will therefore want to sell their merchandise more quickly via different offers and promotions before future launches. But unlike last year, when demand was very strong, consumers now have a lower budget due to inflation. Manufacturers will therefore have to gauge their needs with precision, at the risk of ending up with a surplus of devices on their hands.