The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently shared its immediate growth perspective for the smartphone market in its ‘Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Report’. IDC is a premier global provider of market intelligence for the telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. The ‘Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Report’ is a product of IDC which offers technology and forecast coverage on price bands, and geographic scope of feature phones and smartphones.
Key highlights from the report: What MSMEs can expect by 2022.
Increase in smartphone shipments
Smartphone shipments will touch an all-time high of 1.38 B units by 2021. By the end of 2022, this number will grow by 3.8 per cent and touch a new high of 1.43 B. Even amidst the tough competition from parallel consumer tech markets, the smartphone market is recovering at an accelerated pace.
Demand for 5G devices
By the end of 2021, 5G shipments will see a growth of up to 130 per cent and see triple digit growth in all regions apart from China. 2021 will be the biggest year for the smartphone market in terms of growth.
Low price points on smartphone devices
The Average Selling Price (ASP) of smartphones will peak with a 9.7% growth due to the arrival of 5G in 2021. After the peak, the prices of 5G Android devices will plummet. MSMEs can expect high demand for mid-range and low-end 4G phones within emerging markets. A low, single-digit growth will be seen up till 2025 along with a five-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.7%.
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The smartphone market will be increasingly moving towards locations where 5G networks are deployed.
What’s in it for me?
The smartphone market will be increasingly moving towards locations where 5G networks are deployed. These locales should be your target markets to capitalise on the demand. Due to the strong push towards 5G in the supply side, price points for smartphones will continue to plummet. This will threaten the big fish like Apple and other high end-brands.
Low price points for Android devices will help you to tap into the demand. 5G will be the prime focus across all price points for smartphones. 5G devices will replace LTE devices and consumer tech MSMEs should look into offering 5G Android phones.
Online channels for smartphone models have grown faster than the overall market did. Non-premium products are dominating the online market in terms of shipments and your product must list online to see higher sales and shipments.
However, the offline market for 5G enabled Android smartphone devices is growing as well where non-premium brands (from MSMEs) will have a higher leverage over the premium segment like Apple, Samsung and OnePlus.
