GCC's smartphone shipments fall found in Q3 amid pandemic-induced challenges
01 December, 2020
Smartphone shipments to the Gulf place declined marginally by 0.9 % through the third quarter as discretionary spending took a back seat amid the Covid-19 pandemic, based on the most up-to-date report by International Data Corporation.
Nearly 416 million smartphones were sold in 90 days to September 30, Massachusetts-based research company within its Quarterly Global Mobile Phone Tracker report.
The worthiness of the GCC's smartphone market also fell 11.6 % quarterly to $1.16 billion through the period.
“Despite virtually all countries easing lockdown measures in the third quarter, the channels thought we would take a cautious view … as consumer demand remained modest through the entire quarter,” said IDC.
“Consumers continued to prioritise shelling out for essentials while reducing on discretionary spending in a variety of categories, including cell phones.”
Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s most significant economy, accounted for 52.6 % of all smartphones shipped within the GCC region. Even so, the kingdom suffered an overall quarter-on-quarter decline in shipments because of a rise in VAT, which led to an increase in rates, IDC said.
The UAE, the region's second-largest industry, saw its share of smartphone shipments increase to 24.1 per cent during the period.
Southern Korean brand Samsung remained the marketplace leader on the GCC, with a 44.6 % market share.
"Using its large portfolio of models in the entry-level and mid-range selling price bands, Samsung not merely maintained its leading position but also captured talk about lost by Huawei," Akash Balachandran, a senior research analyst at IDC, said.
"The demand for low-end smartphones continues to stay strong as customers search for benefit and the channel continues to be cautious with regards to stocking advanced and ultra-premium products," he added.
Looking in advance, the GCC smartphone marketplace is forecast to see a quarterly shipment expansion of 6.5 % as sales choose amid the vacation season.
"Fourth quarter possesses traditionally been a strong quarter for the GCC smartphone industry," Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC, said.
Despite the ever-looming possibility of additional lockdowns and spikes in Covid-19 cases, a noticable difference in the market's performance is anticipated towards the finish of the year, explained Mr Yavuz, “Particularly as countries start to normalise travel and additional positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine is introduced.”
Brands such as for example Apple and Samsung may also post a strong performance found in the upcoming quarters with newly released models within their portfolios, IDC predicted.
Chinese vendors, centered on securing market share on the GCC region, will continue their marketing investments, tending to result in a well-performing market in the brief to mid-term.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
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