Service: Market Pulse

Key Takeaways:

• Global Handset Sell-in Dropped more Severely than Sell-through
  • Sell in dropped more severely than sell through during March as the epidemic became a global pandemic.
  • China has fully overcome COVID-19 but the market has only recovered by 80% of its usual strength. Korea however has not only recovered but rebounded to +2% compared to last year.
  • Other parts of the globe have just entered the COVID-19 pandemic downturn. US, India and Western Europe have declined 20-30% compared to February but we think April will be even more severe.
• Apple Sell Through Declined but Huawei and Vivo Improve
  • Apple global sell-through declined significantly by 23% YoY and 25% MoM in March. In the NAM and Europe, two biggest regions for Apple, iPhones sales were impacted by coronavirus pandemic. Outside China, iPhone stores were closed most of the March month which was announced by Apple to control the virus spread.
  • Rebound of China market in March helped the Chinese OEMs to increase their MoM volumes. Huawei and Vivo benefited the most as they increased MoM volume by 27% and 22%, respectively.
• Apple iPhone 11 Sales remain Strong
  • In the ultra-premium segment ($800+), iPhone 11 Pro Max, Galaxy S20 Plus 5G and iPhone 11 Pro contributed 55% to the total volume of the segment.
  • Apple iPhone 11 contributed 59% to the total sell-through of price band $600- $799. Smartphone users are preferring iPhone 11 due to its reasonable price as compared to its high tech features.
  • Samsung ultra-premium segment ($800+) market share increased to 51% in March 2020 compared to 45% in February 2020. It was due to the launch of Galaxy S20 Series

Table of Contents:

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Karn Chauhan

Number of Pages: 39

Published Date: April 2020

Key Takeaways:

Global handset sell-in and sell-through declined

• Annual sell-through dropped 18% for handsets and 14% for smartphones. Handset sell-in shipments dropped slightly more as COVID-19 spread rapidly.
• Most of the drop in February was caused by China and Italy. Most other countries were still showing steady demand.
• There are observations that production from China showed a sharp decline, but this was also due to the Chinese New Year which was expected.
• Sell-in shipments were 108 million units for handsets during February showing a 22% drop compared to last year.

Apple and Huawei register deeper declines, but Samsung less

• Apple sell-through dropped 30% MoM and 7% YoY in February. This was mostly attributed to the seasonality in the Western markets and COVID-19 impact in China.
• Samsung smartphone sell-through declined MoM and YoY by 3% only. There was a slight impact of COVID-19 on Samsung mobile production in February as it has strong manufacturing ecosystem outside China; in Vietnam and India.
• Among Chinese brands, Huawei registered the steepest MoM and YoY declines – 27% and 28%, respectively.

Samsung gains in premium and ultra-premium segment, as Apple declines

• In the ultra-premium price band, Samsung gained slightly as Apple’s performance remained weak in China and the US. Overall, seasonality and COVID-19 impact in China led to a downturn.
• Samsung gained marginally in the premium price band ($600-$799) with the dip in Apple sell-through. iPhone 11 continues to account for ~60% volumes in this price band.

Table of Contents:

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Hanish Bhatia
Number of Pages: 39
Published Date: April 2020

Key Takeaways:

• Global Handset Sell-in and Sell-Through Declined
  • Sell through dropped 9% compared to last year and it was mostly caused by the Chinese market. Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) sales during the last week in January were dismal.
  • Both USA and China showed weak demand. China in dropped 18% compared to last year. Japan was probably the only market we saw growing in January compared to December. Even sales in Japan were lower than last year.
  • Sell in has dropped to 142 million units in January. Sell in was lower than sell through for the first time since April last year
• Apple, Samsung and Huawei Register MoM Decline
  • Apple declined 18% MoM, but it was up 4.1% YoY. This was mostly due to seasonality in the Western markets (especially the US) with lower promotions and dip in store foot traffic post-holidays. China registered 9.7% MoM dip in Apple volumes, but we can expect COVID-19 to impact next month’s volumes.
  • Samsung declined 10.7% MoM and 1.7% YoY. EU and few SE-Asian countries registered a weaker uptake. India registered a 10% MoM dip. A50 and A30 demand was weaker than previous month in EU and MEA.
  • Huawei declined 6.3% MoM and 11.4% YoY. Demand remained comparatively stable in China with marginal MoM decline. Huawei was weak in the EU.
• Ultra-Premium and Premium Price Band Volume Declined, Samsung Gained Marginally
  • In the ultra-premium price band ($800+), top two best-selling models accounted for 69% of total sell-through this month, as compared to 75% during the previous month. This was mostly due to dip in Apple volumes. Samsung gained share marginally as Samsung flagship volumes did not decline as much as Apple.
  • Sell-through in premium ($600-$799) price band increased almost 13% MoM. Samsung flagship GS10/Note 10 volumes dipped. Apple and Huawei remained stable.

Table of Contents:

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Hanish Bhatia
Number of Pages: 39
Published Date: March 2020

Key Takeaways:

• Global Handset Sell-in Inclines While Sell-Through Declines
  • Sell through in December fell 2% from November as the holiday season started and working days were reduced. Most of the major markets like China and Europe saw a drop in sell through sales compared to November. However, sales in USA and Japan rose.
  • Sell in was expected to have been weak, but it rose slightly in December. We think this is due to the 5G start in countries like China. The start of large promotions and marketing activity is causing several vendors to push volumes into the market.
• Apple Continues its Growth Trajectory, While Samsung and Huawei Register Decline
  • Apple inclined 5.3% MoM and 7.6% YoY driven by demand in the US and EU. iPhone 11 series remained in strong demand in western countries due to the long holiday festive season.
  • Samsung declined 4% MoM and 4.8% YoY as demand dipped in India after the end of festive season last month. Demand in S.Korea remained strong for flagship devices. Mid range A-series continues to did well in offline channels.
  • Huawei declined 6.2% MoM and 4.9% YoY. It declined in China too due to weaker overall market. Oppo and Vivo are giving strong competition to Huawei’s mid-range Nova 5 series. The new Nova 6 5G series also did well. Vivo emerged as second largest brand in India ahead of Samsung in Q4 2019.
• Apple Continues To Maintain Stronghold in Ultra-Premium & Premium Price Band
  • In the ultra-premium price band ($800+), the top two best-selling models accounted for more than 75% of total sell-through. Overall sell-through in ultra premium price band remained flat as higher demand in western countries was offset by a dip in other regions.
  • Sell-through in premium ($600-$799) price band increased almost 7% MoM. This was driven by Apple and Google. Samsung S10 and premium A-series demand declined marginally. LG G8 ThinQ demand also weakened after a strong uptake last month.

Table of Contents: 

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Hanish Bhatia
Number of Pages: 39
Published Date: February 2020