Historic drop in smartphone sales worldwide

All sectors of theeconomy are affected by the health crisis linked to the new coronavirus. It must be said that with, in particular, the various containment measures, the demand for goods and services is at its lowest worldwide. Global sales of smartphones collapsed last month: 38% fewer phones were sold than in February 2019.

Longer production times in China

Above all, “this is the biggest drop in the history of the smartphone market,” said Strategy Analytics, who specializes in studying the market. The sector is suffering both from production delays in China and from demand weakened by the pandemic.

Latest Press Release: Global Smartphone Shipments Tumble 38 Percent YoY in February 2020https://t.co/P9w01t6AxV pic.twitter.com/oRL5MVEqXC

– Strategy Analytics (@SA_Update) March 20, 2020

From mid-February, Apple had warned that it would not reach its sales targets this quarter due to the epidemic. The company then mentioned supply difficulties and declining Chinese demand. The main focus of the Covid-19 has since moved to Europe, but China is far from returning to normal. Taiwanese Apple supplier Foxconn said earlier this month that its factories in China are operating at only 50% of their normal production capacity.

March should be the same

Apple has reopened its 42 stores in China, but closed all of its stores in the rest of the world until March 27. The radical measures of containment of the populations and their consequences for consumption strike as much the Chinese manufacturers and Samsung, the world leader in smartphones. The South Korean had to suspend operations at its factory in Gumi, 200 km southeast of Seoul, several times due to cases of coronavirus among its employees.

The coming months should not be better. Strategy Analytics does not expect a good March, “despite the signs of recovery in China”. “The smartphone industry will have to work harder than ever to boost sales in the coming weeks, with online promotions or offers combined with other popular products like connected watches,” said the analyst. Yiwen Wu. And as explained by his colleague Neil Mawston, director of the cabinet, “this is a period that this sector will want to forget”.

–