Africa’s overall mobile phone market saw shipments decline 6% quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2020, according to the latest figures announced by International Data Corporation.
Africa’s overall mobile phone market saw shipments decline 6% quarter on
quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2020, according to the latest figures announced by
International Data Corporation (IDC). The technology research and consulting
services firm’s newly released Global
Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that Africa’s smartphone
market remained flat in Q2 2020, experiencing just 0.1% growth QoQ, while the
region’s feature phone shipments declined 10.6%.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smartphone shipments has been felt
differently across the region. For example, while shipments to South Africa and
Nigeria declined 16.8% and 6.8%, respectively, QoQ in Q2 2020, Egypt recorded a
2.2% increase. Both South Africa and Nigeria adopted strict lockdown measures
in April and May, which included the closure of non-essential businesses. By
contrast, Egypt adopted a more flexible approach and allowed limited hours of
business operations during the second quarter.
Transsion brands (Tecno, Itel, and Infinix) continued to lead the smartphone
market in Q2 2020 with a unit share of 45.2%. Samsung and Huawei followed with
respective unit shares of 19% and 8.8%. In terms of value (U.S. dollar),
Transsion held 30.1% share, while Samsung accounted for 27.8% share. The
average selling price (ASP) for smartphones declined 9.8% QoQ in Q2 2020,
partially due to the market conditions created by the pandemic and partially
due to a continuation in the declining trend of prices. The $0<$80 price
band has gained notable share of the smartphone market since the start of the
pandemic, growing 18.2% QoQ. The availability of such devices helped brands to
cope with the weak demand and price consciousness that flourished during the
pandemic.
The various lockdowns implemented during Q2 2020 led to the growth of the
online distribution channel, while enforced closures caused the decline of
physical retail in the region. “Despite a striking increase in online
sales, the channel still only accounted for 3.2% of the total mobile phones
shipped across Africa in Q2 2020,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research
manager at IDC. “Development of the online channel remains fragmented
across the region and the infrastructure needs more investment to reach a more
promising stance. While the top countries and urban centers benefited from
online sales, the diffusion to a larger audience requires time.”
4G/LTE-enabled devices saw their share of smartphone shipments increase to
81.1% in Q2 2020, spurred by the declining ASP of these devices. “The
absorption of 5G-enabled smartphones in the market remained below 1% as the
cost of 5G devices is prohibitively high and beyond the reach of most consumers,”
says George Mbuthia, a research analyst at IDC. “Also, the telecom
infrastructure required to underpin 5G adoption is still undeveloped, with most
countries still only conducting limited 5G trials.”
IDC expects Africa’s smartphone market to grow 4.2% QoQ in unit terms in Q3
2020 and by 4.4% year on year in 2021 as markets start to recover from the
negative effects of COVID-19. With the reopening of markets, the retail channel
is also expected to recover, although not to the levels it enjoyed before the
pandemic.