News: Markets
23 March 2020
Smartphone shipments fall a record 38% year-on-year in February, from 99.2 million units in 2019 to 61.8 million in 2020
Global smartphone shipments tumbled a record 38% year-on-year in February, from 99.2 million units in February 2019 to 61.8 million in February 2020 (compared with year-on-year contraction of just 3% a year ago), according to the report ‘Global Smartphone Monthly Shipments in 2020’ by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service
“Smartphone demand collapsed in Asia last month, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and this dragged down shipments across the world,” notes Strategy Analytics director Linda Sui. “Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones, while many consumers were unable or unwilling to visit retail stores and buy new devices,” she adds.
“February 2020 saw the biggest fall ever in the history of the worldwide smartphone market,” says executive director Neil Mawston. “Supply and demand of smartphones plunged in China, slumped across Asia, and slowed in the rest of the world,” he adds.
“Despite tentative signs of recovery in China, we expect global smartphone shipments overall to remain weak throughout March,” notes senior analyst Yiwen Wu. “The coronavirus scare has spread to Europe, North America and elsewhere, and hundreds of millions of affluent consumers are in lockdown, unable or unwilling to shop for new devices. The smartphone industry will have to work harder than ever to lift sales in the coming weeks, such as online flash sales or generous discounts on bundling with hot products like smartwatches.”
