The European smartphone market has experienced its worst first quarter in nearly a decade and analysts have caught up with it Research on counterpoint warns that things will get worse before they get better.
The market fell 12% compared to the first three months of last year. With just 49 million smartphones shipped, this was the worst first quarter since 2013. Only one of the top 5 brands experienced growth: Realme doubled its market share.
Samsung remains the leading smartphone manufacturer in the Old Continent. However, its shipments are still down 16% from last year’s first quarter. Apple actually gained one percentage point (year over year), but its shipments also dropped slightly (-6%).
The first quarter of this year saw the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series and Apple’s affordable iPhone SE (3rd generation), but they couldn’t resist the general market downturn.
The downturn was caused by multiple factors: components are still in short supply, which is exacerbated by the COVID-19 blockades in China, there is also increased inflation and the war in Ukraine.
War hits the market in a couple of ways. First, Samsung and Apple withdrew from Russia. They shipped about half of all smartphones in the country (these shipments were only 6% of the total in Europe, though). The companies pulled out towards the end of the quarter, so the full effects will be felt in the second quarter.
This is part of why analysts believe things will get worse in the second quarter. It’s not just telephone shipments, the war could reduce the availability of raw materials used to build electronics. Furthermore, European countries are seeing steep increases in the cost of living, so fewer people will buy new phones.
Continuing the list, Xiaomi has suffered the biggest decline: its shipments are down by 36% compared to last year. Oppo has kept its share of the others, but that means even fewer phones shipped (note: Oppo’s numbers include OnePlus). Realme is counted separately and has moved 67% more phones than in the first quarter of 2021, so it has doubled its market share.
Last year the European market was on the road to recovery having grown by 8% (compared to the weak 2020). That recovery ended with a decline in the first quarter and a dark forecast for the second quarter (and even several quarters thereafter).
Start a new Thread