Samsung down to fourth spot in Q2, Smartphone shipments fall 5%

Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. fell two places to rank fourth among smartphone companies in India on the back of lower growth in the June quarter of this calendar year. Global smartphone shipments fell to 287 million units in the second quarter, a massive 9% drop, as component orders are being cut rapidly and suppliers have started to be concerned about oversupply.

According to a report by IDC, Q2 2022 smartphone shipments in India grew about 3% year-over-year but fell 5% compared to Q1 2022. The whole first half of 2022 recorded a 1% decline in overall smartphone sales. While Chinese phone maker Xiaomi retained its lead, Realme and vivo made big gains and now occupy second and third positions with 17.5% and 16.9% shares, respectively. 

“Vendors were forced to review their tactics in Q2 as the outlook for the smartphone market became more cautious,” said Canalys Research Analyst Runar Bjørhovde. “Economic headwinds, sluggish demand and inventory pileup have resulted in vendors rapidly reassessing their portfolio strategies for the rest of 2022. The oversupplied mid-range is an exposed segment for vendors to focus on adjusting new launches, as budget-constrained consumers shift their device purchases toward the lower end.” 

The Q2 global smartphone figures are the lowest quarterly figure since Q2 2020, when the pandemic first hit. Samsung led the market with 61.8 million smartphones shipped and a 21 per cent market share. Despite the weak seasonality, Apple held on to second place, shipping 49.5 million iPhones for a 17 per cent market share. Xiaomi stayed in third place with 39.6 million units, while OPPO and vivo completed the top five with 27.3 and 25.4 million units, respectively.

Analyst Toby Zhu sais, “At the same time, that might make getting rid of old models even harder. The oversupply situation is demanding more of vendors’ planning capabilities than the shortage period.” Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president of devices research at IDC India, said that Samsung has seen its average selling price (ASP) for smartphones rise in India, despite its falling market share. Samsung ASP of close to Rs 20,000 (it was Rs18,400 in the June quarter of last calendar year) is the highest among India’s top five smartphone sellers, the IDC report said.

Global inflation pressures leading to a drop in discretionary Samsung consumer spending has caused demand for smartphones fall in India. According to industry analysts, shipments in the Indian smartphone market have continued to drop — registering a 5% sequential decline in the June quarter as well.