Rising Tide: Smartphone Shipments on the Up

Smartphone Market Set for Rise, says IDC

According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the smartphone market is poised for growth, with Q3 showing only a 0.1% year-on-year decrease to 302.8 million units.

"We are seeing a strong ramp up of shipments in emerging markets by vendors like Xiaomi and Transsion," says IDC's Nabila Popal. "While this is a good sign of approaching recovery, vendors must keep a close eye on sell-through to avoid falling into excess inventory again."

In China, shipments fell by 6.3% year over year in Q3 2023, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of decline. The country's climbing youth unemployment, ongoing real estate crisis, and deflation have significantly dampened consumer spending and the broader macroeconomic environment.

Meanwhile, Europe, Japan, and the U.S. experienced declines of 8.6%, 5.3%, and 1.1% respectively in smartphone shipments. However, emerging markets such as the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Latin America (LA), and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) saw shipment growth of 18.1%, 8.2%, and 1.3% respectively in Q3 2023.

This growth in emerging markets can be attributed to factors such as increasing disposable income, expanding middle-class populations, and improving internet connectivity. As these markets continue to develop, smartphone vendors have an opportunity to tap into the growing demand for affordable and feature-rich devices.