Consumers move toward cheaper smartphones

Shipments of low-to-mid tier smartphones dominated the market in the second quarter, as consumers prioritised spending on essentials and turned to cheaper devices due to economic uncertainties, research company IDC found.

In a statement, IDC said economic uncertainties had exacerbated downward pressure on smartphone prices globally, with the sub-$400 category expected to account for 73 per cent of shipments in 2020.

Overall, the $100 to $399 segment gained a 60 per cent market share in Q2, compared with 11.6 per cent for the mid-to-high tier ($400 to $599).

Sangeetika Srivastava, senior research analyst at IDC, attributed the rising popularity of cheaper devices with “rising unemployment rates and job uncertainty”, which had influenced consumers’ buying patterns towards economic and affordable products.

The pressure on smartphone prices was evident globally, but most obvious in developing regions including Asia Pacific (excluding Japan and China), Latin America, Middle East and Africa and Central and Eastern Europe, where sub-$400 devices captured up to 85 per cent of the market.

IDC noted even in the US, devices under $200 had a 27 per cent market share.

Samsung, Huawei and other Chinese vendors including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo drove the segment.

Apple also “performed well” following the launch of its iPhone SE, IDC stated.

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