This is the biggest market decline in ten years. According to the research firm IDC, smartphone shipments fell 18.3% during the holiday quarter, and saw an 11.3% drop in 2022, compared to the previous year. With 260 million smartphones, Samsung remains the leading brand sold, but still experienced a 4% drop in growth in the sector, compared to 2021. Its competitor Apple, located in second place, recorded the same dynamic. , the year 2022 having been marked by the decline in sales of iPhones to more than 8%.
The apple company reported in early November disruptions at the Zhengzhou (China) site, the largest production plant for the brand’s famous phones, due to an outbreak of Covid-19 cases. During the conference call presenting the financial results on Thursday, February 3, the general manager Tim Cook indicated that the slowdowns had continued “during most of the month of December”, but also that demand was not in question.
“We believe iPhone sales would have grown last quarter if not for the supply shortage,” the chief executive said. Nevertheless, Bloomberg reports that the latest iPhone 14 Pros are selling at discounts of over $100 in China, “an unusually steep price drop” that “suggests a drop in demand for even its highest-end devices.”
An increase in refurbished phones
The brands that suffered the most are still the Chinese brands Xiaomi and Oppo, with respective drops of 20 and 23%. “The strict pandemic control policy has led to historically high household savings as consumers have become conservative in their spending,” Lucas Zhong, head of smartphone industry monitoring for research firm Canalys, told Reuters.
“The observation of the drop in sales of new smartphones is also linked to the fact that there are more and more offers of refurbished telephones. This mode of purchase is becoming more commonplace, in this general context. decline in purchasing power”, analyzes Gilles Dounès, specialist in technologies, with Atlantico. According to an IDC study published in early January, 282.6 million used and refurbished mobiles would have been sold worldwide in 2022, an increase in sales of these devices of 11.5% compared to 2021. A trend that should continue. continue in the years to come: the consulting firm estimates that this market should grow by almost 10% per year by 2026.
In France, 15.7 million smartphones were sold in 2021, i.e. a volume down 10% over the last three years, according to GFK figures published in early 2022. On the other hand, the market is recovering, with an average price of 446 euros, up 7% over three years. According to an annual study published on Monday February 6 on the distribution of digital equipment and the evolution of their uses, 87% of the population in France declare having owned a smartphone in 2022, reports AFP.