The latest report of Channels focuses on the North American smartphone market. Specifically, shipments estimated for the first quarter of 2022 are on the way and some trends are noticeable. For starters, the overall smartphone market grew 4% to 39 million units shipped compared to 37.6 million shipped in the same quarter last year. It is noted that this occurs despite the “inflationary pressure”.
Google recorded the most significant relative growth with a 380% increase in shipments year-on-year. Google sold 1.2 million phones and gained 3% market share for the quarter compared to 0.2 million shipped during the same quarter last year. Channels Research analyst Runar Bjørhovde
he explains, “Google is on the offensive to capture market share, building on its broad carrier presence and unprecedented investment in the Pixel brand, both in traditional ad campaigns and a new NBA partnership.”
Meanwhile, Motorola (labeled Lenovo on the charts) also experienced significant growth, shipping 4 million units this quarter compared to 2.6 million shipped in the second quarter of ’21. “Motorola has used its broad carrier presence, particularly with prepaid and mid-range focused carriers, to quickly discover and exploit new opportunities, while also forming new supply partnerships.”
Apple captured a 51% market share and grew 19% year-on-year with 19.9 million units shipped. Samsung was ranked second with a market share of 27%, although the number of shipments remained virtually unchanged with an increase of only 1% year-on-year, reaching 10.5 million in the quarter. TCL ranked fourth but recorded a 21% decline in shipments year-over-year with a 4% market share, shipping 1.4 million units, still above Google, albeit slightly.
Looking ahead, the report notes that inflation is putting pressure on US carriers to raise rates, while high-value discount and trade-in offers are helping to retain customers buying high-end devices. “The North American market is well positioned to avoid any significant volatility in shipments despite the uncertain outlook for its economy.”
Start a new Thread