Global Smartphone Shipments Slide 9% in Q2 as Market Share Drops in Nigeria

Emma Okonji

A report by Mobile World Live has revealed that global smartphone shipments slide by 9 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.

Mobile World Live is the online communications hub for global mobile industry and the official news portal of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which represent the interest of global mobile network operators, including Nigeria.

 In its second quarter result on global smartphone shipments, Mobile World Live said the slide in global smartphone shipments, came at a time when market share of smartphone vendors in Nigeria also dropped slightly.

According to statistics on market share of smartphone vendors in Nigeria, published by Statista in May this year, Tecno, which was the market leader in smartphone sales in Nigeria as at March this year, with 28 per cent of the market share of mobile device vendors in Nigeria, followed by Infinix which was ranked second with 23.7 per cent share, and Samsung with 10.7 per cent of the market share in Nigeria, all witnessed a slide in their market share, due to drop in sales.

According to the numbers from Statista, Tecno market share of mobile device vendor in Nigeria slide from from 29.44 per cent in February this year to 28.43 per cent in March this year, while Infinix slide from 23.8 per cent in February to 23.7 per cent in March, and Samsung market share also slide from 10.84 per cent in January to 10.71 per cent in March. Apple also slide in its market share from 9.51 per cent in January to 8.73 per cent in March. Huawei also had its slide from 3.52 per cent market share in January to 3 per cent in March. Xiaomi had a slide in market share from 2.7 per cent March to 2.65 per cent in February, but picked up slightly in March to 2.78 per cent, while Nokia also had a slide in market from 2.12 per cent in January this year to 2.06 per cent in March this year.

On the global scene, the second quarter report on smartphone shipments from Mobile World Live, shows that worldwide, smartphone shipments declined 9 per cent year-on-year in Q2 due to economic headwinds and regional uncertainty, but Apple’s iPhone 13 remained in high demand and Samsung benefitted from lower-tier models, according to preliminary data from research company, Canalys.

The report from Mobile World Live said shipments of the iPhone 13 helped boost Apple to a 17 per cent share compared with 14 per cent in Q2 2021, ranking it second overall in the recent quarter.

Samsung took the top spot with a 21 per cent share compared with 18 per cent, largely due shipments of its mid-tier A-series.

On the global scene, Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo suffered double-digit declines in shipments, leaving them with shares of 14 per cent, 10 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, compared with 17 per cent, 11 per cent and 10 per cent in Q2 2021.

Analysing the global statistics of smartphone shipments, a global research analyst, Runar Bjorhovde, said: “Economic headwinds, sluggish demand and inventory backlogs resulted in vendors reassessing their strategies for the rest of 2022.

“The oversupplied mid-range is an exposed segment for vendors to focus on adjusting new launches, as budget-constrained consumers shift their device purchases toward the lower end.”

Another global analyst, Toby Zhu noted that consumers’ disposable income was impacted by soaring inflation this year, but he insisted that he expected vendors to accelerate promotions and special offers to drive sales ahead of launches during the holiday selling period.