The Russian smartphone market is experiencing a record decline

by time news

The fact that in January-March sales of smartphones in Russia in units fell sharply compared to the same period in 2020, Vedomosti was told by employees of three large Russian retail chains. The fall was 13%, two of them say.

From the first week of January to the first week of March, the demand for smartphones in Russia in units decreased by 14%, GfK said. And according to preliminary estimates of MTS analysts, sales of smartphones in the first quarter of 2021 in Russia decreased by 8.8% in physical terms, says Alexey Merkutov, a spokesman for MTS.

“According to preliminary data, in the first quarter of 2021, about 6.8 million smartphones were sold on the Russian smartphone market, compared to the first quarter of 2020, sales decreased by 11%,” says Mikhail, Vice President for Procurement and Development of Svyaznoy. Dogadin.

The difference in estimates of the volume of the market fall is explained by the calculation method – if we take into account the week in which the beginning of the New Year holidays fell, the fall is closer to 11-13%, if only the full weeks of the year – about 8%, sources close to the two retail chains explained to Vedomosti … The exact data on the state of the market will appear only in April, they note.

Depending on the method of calculation, in the first quarter of 2021 in Russia it can actually be sold by 10-13% less than a year earlier, confirms the leading analyst of Mobile Research Group Eldar Murtazin: “In any case, this is a record decrease in sales of smartphones year-on-year … The last time a noticeable drop in sales occurred in the first quarter of 2015. Then, after the collapse of the ruble and the rush of demand for consumer goods at the end of 2014, the smartphone market contracted by 5%. “

Murtazin explains the decline in sales by the shortage of smartphones, which, in turn, is due to the lack of components for their assembly. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parts manufacturing facilities initially stood idle, and then the demand for electronic components rose sharply due to the growth in sales of smartphones, tablets and computers. The pandemic has severely hampered the logistics of components and finished products.

Now, for example, the latest iPhone 12 series models are in short supply, sources in two retail chains told Vedomosti. The device is not available in all stores, complains one of them. There is also a shortage of the flagship Samsung Galaxy S21, says another.

In addition to some Samsung models, it is now problematic to buy popular models from Chinese manufacturers, for example Xiaomi Redmi Note, adds Murtazin.

Another significant reason for the decline in sales of smartphones at the beginning of this year, Murtazin considers the rush demand for them last year: “Smartphones and computers were bought by almost everyone who needed them for study and work. They invested part of the social payments made by the state as part of helping the population during the pandemic, they spent money saved on tourism, shopping and restaurants. “

The last time the Russian smartphone market shrank in volume, in 2015 (by 5% compared to the previous year), its recovery took two years. That is, in 2017 the number of devices sold exceeded the level of 2014. Then, year after year, the demand for smartphones gradually grew, reaching a record of 31.5–32 million devices last year. Apparently, this year there will be no record, Murtazin notes: “Based on the current dynamics, it can be assumed that in the first half of 2021, sales will be about 11% lower than a year earlier, and by the end of the whole year they will decrease by about 7 % “.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a key factor of uncertainty in the smartphone market, it has had and will continue to have a significant impact on the economy and, accordingly, on the well-being of people and their purchasing power, says Dogadin: “Another factor was the lack of production capacity in the semiconductor market. “.

Despite the general decline in the market, there are also growing price categories. “Sales of devices are more expensive than 50,000 rubles. increased by almost 300% in physical terms. At the same time, the demand for affordable devices costing up to 10,000 rubles. decreased by 58% “, – notes Merkutov.

“According to the results of the first quarter of 2021, the share of models from the upper price range in units has more than doubled, reaching 15% – and 47% in monetary terms,” confirms the representative of M.video – Eldorado.

“On the one hand, people tend to buy smartphones“ ahead of the curve ”- this allows them to get the most complete and even redundant set of functions. On the other hand, affordable consumer lending allows you to do this, ” Denis Kuskov, TelecomDaily CEO, explains the growth in sales of expensive smartphones. – In addition, we must take into account that Russia is a country of conspicuous consumption. In general, the Russian smartphone market now does not have such a growth driver as in Europe, the United States and many other countries – there sales of devices, which had been falling for several years, began to grow again due to the development of 5G networks. It will not appear in Russia soon ”.

According to M.video – Eldorado, Samsung became the most popular smartphone manufacturer in Russia in the first quarter. In second place is the Chinese Xiaomi, in third – Apple. 4th and 5th places were taken by Honor and Huawei, respectively.

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