SA smartphones down, Samsung leads Mobicel, Huawei
A 22% slump in smartphone shipments into the South African resulted mainly from the COVID-19 outbreak halting production in China. Nigeria and Egypt were not as severely affected.
Nigeria Mobile Phone Market Declines as Uncertainty Grows Amid COVID-19
Nigeria’s feature phone market suffered a 12.5% quarter-on-quarter
(QoQ) decline in shipments in Q1 2020, according to the latest figures
from global technology and consulting services firm International
Data Corporation (IDC). The firm’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker shows
that smartphone shipments declined 13.6% over the same period, with
demand for both types of devices hit by cautious market sentiment in the
wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. From a supply
perspective, the December 2019 pre-orders combined with existing
inventory to cushion the market from any severe shortages in Q1 2020.
Feature phones remain a major part of Nigeria’s mobile phone
ecosystem, accounting for 56.0% share of all devices shipped in Q1 2020.
Feature phones are preferred as secondary phones since they offer
longer battery life, radio, and network access in rural
areas where 4G infrastructure is underdeveloped. The major players in
the country’s feature phone space in Q1 2020 were Tecno with 46.6% unit
share, Itel with 30.8%, Nokia with 13.0%, and Bontel with 6.9%.
The market’s Chinese players continued with aggressive marketing and
branding activities that helped them to retain notable market shares
despite the supply issues thrown up by the pandemic. Transsion brands
(i.e., Tecno, Itel, and Infinix) dominated the
smartphone space in Q1 2020, accounting for 76.8% of all shipments for
the quarter. Samsung held the second-biggest unit share at 7.2%, while
Xiaomi and Huawei followed with respective shares of 4.9% and 3.2%.
“The Chinese brands continue to offer more models in the entry-level
and mid-range price bands, with devices going for less than $200,” says
George Mbuthia, a research analyst with IDC. “Competition is a major
driver of this downward trend in average selling
prices, a trend that has catalyzed smartphone adoption in the market.
Despite seeing its share drop by 3%, Transsion’s Tecno brand continued
to lead the way in Q1 2020, with its Spark 4 and Camon 12 models proving
popular. Samsung also remained competitive
in Q1 2020 as its A-series models offer superior specifications and are
affordable for most consumers.”
Looking ahead, IDC expects the Nigerian market to see a further 15.7%
QoQ decline in overall mobile phone shipments in Q2 2020 as the
lockdown of major businesses that started March 26th and further
measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 continue
to have a negative impact.
“Distributors remain reluctant to keep large inventories as they look
to avoid bonding more capital amid an economic slowdown with a
fluctuating Naira and declining oil prices,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a
senior research manager at IDC. “The lockdown has also
led to loss of income on the consumer side, which will translate into
low spend on mobile phones.”