Globally, the telephony and wearables market closed 2022 with a drop of -9.7% compared to the previous year.
Italy went against the trend, for which 2022 closed with a growth of +4% in the total of the sector defined as 'telecom'.
These are the data from the analysis company Gfk.
Among the reasons for the general slowdown are the reduction of consumer spending budgets and the lengthening of product life cycles.
Data shows that, from January to September 2018, only 48% of consumers used their smartphone for two years.
This share rose to 57% in the same period of 2022, mostly among Generation Z (15-25 year olds).
The younger generations have a greater focus on sustainability and therefore consciously extend the life cycle of their devices.
"We had already forecast a saturation effect for 2022 after the strong sales in the years of the pandemic, but the continuation of the weakness of the Chinese market had a significant impact on the results" explained Jan Lorbach, GfK expert for the Telecom sector.
The smartphone segment, including phablets (terminals with displays from 6 inches upwards), also recorded a drop in demand of -9.1% compared to the previous year, in the period from January to December 2022, for a total of 908 million units sold.
Revenue was hit even harder, dropping -10.2% to $330 billion.
As for the Italian market,
in addition to the +4% growth of the telephony department as a whole (which also considers devices for office use), the respective data for smartphones (+2.7%) and wearables (+8%) increased.
GfK forecasts a stronger 2023 for the telephony sector, largely thanks to China, the largest market, which should drive growth internationally.