Sales in the world of
mobile telephony
are experiencing an unprecedented drop.
According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) consultancy, the sale of smartphones fell by 18.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022, a collapse that not even the Christmas period could save.
Despite the crisis facing the technology sector, the dismal data surprised analysts.
Nabila Popal, research director for IDC's Worldwide Tracker team, stated that they had never before seen "sales in the last quarter of the year be
lower than in the previous one
, but lower demand and high inventory have forced manufacturers to drastically cut production.
The fall suffered by the sector is largely motivated by the economic uncertainty that is taking place worldwide.
Added to this are the problems in the production chain and the lack of supply of
parts and components.
All this was a bump for a sector that relied on the sales of the Christmas period to recover.
The period of the year 2022 closed with a general drop of 11.3% in the number of terminals sold.
Sellers have been forced to be more conservative with their orders and consumers are trying new purchasing alternatives, such as phone leasing, which involves renting the latest models
in exchange for paying a monthly fee.
Apple, dominant player
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
Photo Reuters
The technological Apple, which usually remains strong in the face of these blows in the market, has not registered good results either.
iPhone sales have fallen by almost 15%, according to data from the consultancy;
Ten million less have been sold than in the same period of the previous year, specifically a total of
27 million devices.
The 2022 period closed with a drop of
11.3% in the number of terminals sold.
In the case of the Cupertino company, the drop is not due so much to a lack of demand, but to the stoppage of its manufacturing plants in Shenzhen as a result of a major outbreak of coronavirus, which has affected the production of iPhone 14 Pro.
Days before the start of the Christmas period, the company's stores were already making it clear that practically all of its models were sold out,
with no deliveries available until mid-January.
the rest of the market
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Photo Bloomberg
In the case of Xiaomi, the data is devastating;
the fall in its sales has been 26.3% and almost everything sold corresponds to inventory offers from previous quarters.
Anthony Scarsella, director of research at IDC, assures that this "is going to be a year in which caution will prevail. Manufacturers will have to reevaluate their catalogs and the channel will think twice before assuming excess inventory. The positive note is that consumers will find better deals."
According to the consultant's estimates, the period corresponding to 2023 is expected to close with
a 2.8% increase in the number of phones sold
.
The strong crisis is affecting all telephone companies, with the technological sector being the most affected.
The lack of stock reduces the supply and the demand falls by itself due to the evident decline of the market.
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