According to data from Counterpoint Research, global smartphone sales increased in October after falling for 27 straight months in the previous year. This increase was mostly driven by emerging market recovery.

The research states that in October, sell-through transactions, or retail sales volumes, increased by 5% on a yearly basis.

“The growth has been led by emerging markets with a continuous recovery in Middle East and Africa, Huawei’s comeback in China and onset of festive season in India,” the research firm said. The developed markets with relatively higher smartphone saturation have seen a slower recovery, it added.

Following the debut of its Mate 60 Pro smartphone in September, which attracted a lot of interest from consumers thanks to its cutting-edge technology, Huawei recorded the fastest growth among Chinese smartphone manufacturers in the third quarter.

According to the data, October saw the greatest monthly sales of smartphones since January 2022.

Sales of smartphones were further boosted by the late-September release of Apple’s iPhone 15 series. According to Counterpoint Research, “last year’s launch was pushed back by a week, so the full impact of the new iPhone sales was felt in October.”

Extended replacement cycles, shortages of components, and inventory accumulation have affected smartphone sales worldwide.

“These issues have been compounded with an uncertain macroeconomic environment and as a result, global smartphones sales have declined year-on-year every month for more than 2 years,” the research firm said.

Last month, tech research firm Canalys said that third-quarter smartphone shipments dropped just 1%, compared to a 10% reduction in the previous quarter, suggesting that the global slide in smartphone sales was slowing down.

“Rising demand for fresh offerings in emerging markets is propelling brands and channels forward as the holiday season approaches,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, senior analyst at Canalys.

According to data from Counterpoint Research, South Korea’s Samsung maintained its dominance of the worldwide smartphone industry in the third quarter, accounting for 20% of all smartphone sales. With a 16% market share, Apple came in second, ahead of the Chinese companies Vivo (8%), Xiaomi (12%), and Oppo (10%).

In the fourth quarter, Counterpoint Research projects that the worldwide smartphone market will continue to expand.

“Following strong growth in October, we expect the market to grow year-on-year in 2023 Q4 as well, setting the market on the path to gradual recovery in the coming quarters,” the research firm said.

(Adapted from PressReader.com)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Regulations & Legal, Strategy, Uncategorized