Madrid (EFE).- The global market for smart mobile phones fell by around 11% in 2022 compared to 2021, to 1,206 million units sold, which places the sector at 2013 levels after facing its worst quarter since there are records.
According to IDC data, in 2022, 1,205.5 million mobile phones were shipped worldwide, which represents a decline of 11.3% compared to 2021 and exceeds the worst expectations of the consultancy, which expected a drop in sales. of around 9%.
Some figures that are in line with those published by the consultancy Canalys, which ensures that the world mobile phone market fell by 11% in 2022 to 1,200 million units sold, which reflects that it has been an “extremely difficult exercise for everyone”. the sellers”.
Both consultancies agree that rising inflation and macroeconomic concerns have curbed consumer spending, with renewal rates now exceeding 40 months in most major markets.
To this must be added the high level of stocks and the fact that the channel was very cautious when it came to assuming new inventories, which has contributed to the “drastic” reduction in shipments, especially during the last quarter of the year.
In fact, after a 2022 setback for the market, IDC believes that 2023 is presented as “a year of caution, in which vendors will rethink their portfolio of devices and channels will think twice before acquiring an excess.” of inventory”, which removes any possible recovery “until the end” of the year.
However, the consultant considers that this situation could cause consumers to find “even more generous offers and promotions” during 2023, because the market will think of new methods to promote updates and sell more devices, especially high-end models. high.
With the drop of 11% that it experienced in 2022, the market has reached 2013 levels after living a few years with uneven behavior in which it has been affected by the semiconductor crisis and the worldwide logistics problems derived from it. of the coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, although in 2021 shipments worldwide grew by 5.7% to 1,354.8 million units, they had chained three years of consecutive declines, with falls of 5.9%, 2.3% and 4, 1% in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
The worst quarter of history
The behavior of the mobile market has been especially bad between October and December 2022, when “the worst quarter in history” has been experienced, according to IDC.
The consultancy ensures that, during the last quarter of the year, shipments fell by 18.3% year-on-year to 300.3 million units, worse figures than those registered between July and September -when the worst third quarter in eight years – despite the fact that traditionally this period is always better due to the increase in demand for Christmas.
For its part, Canalys concludes that the market decreased by 17% between October and December 2022 when compared to the same period in 2021, which represents “the worst annual and fourth-quarter results in the last decade.”
Samsung remains number 1
Although they vary in market share and the decline experienced, both IDC and Canalys agree in placing the Korean Samsung as the leading company in the mobile market in 2022, followed by Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo.
Specifically, Samsung captured 21.6% of the market in 2022, 1.6 points more than in 2021, despite the fact that its shipments fell 4.1% to 260.9 million units, according to IDC data.
For their part, Apple shipments fell 4% to 226.4 million units (18.8% of the market) and Xiaomi’s fell 19.8% to 153.1 million mobiles (12 7% of the total).
After them, OPPO shipped 103.3 million units, representing a decline of 22.7% and a market share of 8.6%, while Vivo’s sales fell 22.8% to 99 million. mobile phones (8.2% of the total).
Despite the fact that Samsung led the annual market, as in the past 2021, Apple captured the largest share during the fourth quarter of the year, with 24.1% of the total after shipping 72.3 million units.
In addition, the sales of the apple company were the ones that decreased the least in the last quarter compared to the previous year, after registering a year-on-year drop of 14.9%.
