Distribution networks selling phones have recorded a sharp increase in demand for expensive smartphones, according to Vedomosti.
MTS and M.video-Eldorado reported that sales of telephones worth more than 100 thousand rubles doubled in the first quarter of this year, while Svyaznoy announced a 300% increase.
According to the representative of MTS, until mid-March, about 60% of phones more expensive than 100 thousand rubles were bought on credit, but in the second half of the month the share of credit acquisitions decreased to 30%.
Market participants and experts interviewed by the publication associate the growth in sales of expensive phones with several factors, including the weakening of the ruble, the expectation of a shortage, and also the transition to remote work, for the organization of which some have updated their electronic devices.
Experts suggest that this is a one-time sharp increase in sales. In the second quarter and beyond, this growth will not be due to the depreciation of the ruble and the reduction in the income of buyers, they say.
The share of smartphones more than 100 thousand rubles in the Russian market in physical terms is about 1%, Vedomosti writes, citing a representative of M.video-Eldorado.
In Russia, due to the spread of coronavirus infection, from mid-March, many companies voluntarily switched to remote work, and from the end of March until the end of April, days off were announced in the country.
At the beginning of the year, manufacturers of components for smartphones temporarily did not work in China due to coronavirus.
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