Tecno, Infinix In Tough Battle With Samsung For Africa Market
Shipments of smartphones priced between $100 and $200 are on the rise in Africa, defying a larger drop in shipments caused by inflation, global supply chain issues and economic uncertainty, the Daily Nation reported. ALSO READ: TECNO Mobile Rwanda Introduces Spark 10 Series Segment Shipment Share in 2022 from 41.6% to 43.8% in Q3 2022 Carriers to Offer Cheap Smartphones with Premium Findings from the International Data Corporation (IDC) show that as competition in the premium segment intensifies in 2022, legacy brands (Transsions) are outpacing new and existing rivals Tecno, Infinix and Itel: Transsion, the market leader with a strong portfolio of entry-level devices. , its overall share rose from 47.9% to 43.4%, while second-placed Samsung rose significantly from a low of 19.6%. ALSO READ: Infinix's new 'NOTE 12 series' launches with Samsung in second place with a 28.7% share thanks to the strong performance of its A04 model, according to the IDC March 2023 quarter mobile tracker report by research firm Canalys Samsung's market puts An even bigger share of 33%, compared to Transsion's 49%, Xiaomi's 6% and Chinese brand Realme's 3% in fourth place. According to Canalys, Realme recorded its highest annual growth rate of 71% in November 2022. We have seen an increase in sales in our entry-level segment, indicating a growing demand for affordable functional devices. Realme Kenya Public Relations and Marketing Manager Mildred Agoya said in a recent statement: In 2022, Realme is aggressively pushing its entry-level smartphones under the C-series brands in the Kenyan market. It launched a new plan to attract young customers, increasing its R&D budget by 58% to support technological innovations and high-quality smartphones at an affordable price. This development reflects fierce competition in the entry-level segment, where consumers are exploring more options. Most entry-level smartphones have high-resolution cameras (up to 50 MP) among other premium features. A powerful battery helps you with heavy usage of the phone. These features made this phone very popular among early smartphone owners. According to The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2021 GSMA report, young first-time mobile phone consumers will continue to be the main source of growth for entry-level smartphones in the coming years. 40% of the population of this region is under 15 years old. In Kenya, despite a decline in overall mobile phone shipments, the share of phones priced under $200 rose from 41% to 55.3% in 2021, which the report attributed to sellers' shifting wallets. Samsung, which controls the overall smartphone market with a 31% share, is increasing its distribution through its wealth financing platform M-KOPA, which allows unbanked customers to buy products such as smartphones. While overall market sentiment was negative in the fourth quarter of 2022, reflecting supply chain pressures in 2022, vendors offering their products through asset financing platforms were least affected, reflecting growing interest in mobile financing systems, said George Mbutia. : Senior Research Analyst at IDC. Smartphone financing is on the rise across the continent and continues to grow in many countries to unlock the high cost of mobile ownership. In March 2022, telecom operator Orange teamed up with Netherlands-based Yabx and the Ivorian Financial Institution to facilitate phone financing in the West African country. High temporary fees are a big challenge to increase user adoption. "We are confident that this partnership with Yabx will remove the high cost barrier to entry, which will help drive smartphone adoption," said Raoul Yoboue, Head of Marketing at Orange Cote d'Ivoire, at the launch of the partnership. In October 2022, African telecommunications giant MTN launched a smartphone financing initiative with Intelligra, an open smartphone financing platform. The partnership will use a buy-now-pay-later model to drive mobile adoption in the country. Watu, a popular FinTech asset with two- and three-wheeler financing in seven African countries, now offers phone financing in Kenya and Tanzania. Last year, Nigeria (32.1%) and Egypt (56.2%) saw the largest declines in mobile phone shipments on the continent, reflecting high inflation, the tight US dollar in Nigeria and the devaluation of Egypt's sterling against the dollar. The South African market was the least affected smartphone market in the region, which IDC analysts attributed to the focus on the Chinese carrier market, improved performance of major operators and promotional activities during the holiday season. Overall, the number of mobile phones shipped to the continent fell by more than 8 million units between 2021 and 2022, with feature phones seeing the biggest drop from 27.1 million units in 2021 to 22.7 million units in 2022, according to IDC. Smartphone shipments fell by nearly four million units, from 21.5 million units to 17.6 million. But there are bright hopes for 2023, with IDC analysts forecasting a modest rebound to 3% annual growth in the continent's shipments, driven by improving demand constraints. This is moderate growth for Africa, but amid global and regional economic uncertainty, there is cause for caution in the region's smartphone market, said IDC research director Ramazan Yawuz.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Sindacato.info).
