Smartphone shipments met their most significant quarterly decline in the last three months of 2022, a time typically reserved for high sales given the holiday season.
According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), shipments declined by almost 20 percent year-over-year to 300.3 million units across the top five companies.
Apple’s shipments declined 15 percent, Samusung’s 15.6 percent and Xiaomi’s 26.3 percent.
In total, 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022, the lowest figure since 2013.
“We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter,” Nabila Popal, a research director with IDC, said. “Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth.”
Various reasons contribute to the low figure, including lower consumer demand and inflation. IDC says concerns remain sales won’t recover in 2023.
But there is a positive, Anthony Scarsell, a research director with IDC, says. “Consumers may find even more generous trade-in offers and promotions continuing well into 2023 as the market will think of new methods to drive upgrades and sell more devices, specifically high-end models.”
Source: IDC
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