Worldwide smartphone shipments declined 18.3 per cent in the December quarter compared to a year earlier, to a little over 300 million units, in the fourth quarter of 2022. The drop marks the largest-ever decline in a single quarter and contributed to a steep 11.3 per cent decline for the year, International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a report published late Wednesday.
As per the report, the US-based tech giant Apple shipped 72.3 million iPhones in the December quarter, down year-on-year from 85 million units, representing a 14.9 per cent drop in shipments compared to the same quarter a year ago.
er major smartphone brands suffered similar double-digit setbacks. Samsung’s shipments fell by 15.6 per cent year-on-year, and Chinese mobile makers OPPO and vivo suffered almost equivalent declines, with Xiaomi performing worst over the quarter with a 26.3 per cent drop in shipments.
“We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter. However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on shipments. Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC ‘s Worldwide Tracker team.
Popal also said that vendors are increasingly cautious in their shipments and planning while realigning their focus on profitability. Even Apple, which thus far was seemingly immune, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China.
“What this holiday quarter tells us is that rising inflation and growing macro concerns continue to stunt consumer spending even more than expected and push out any possible recovery to the very end of 2023,” she added.
According to Anthony Scarsella, research director with IDC, with 2022 declining more than 11 per cent for the year, 2023 is set up to be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their portfolio of devices while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventory.
“However, on a positive note, consumers may find even more generous trade-in offers and promotions continuing well into 2023 as the market will think of new methods to drive upgrades and sell more devices, specifically high-end models,” Scarsella said.
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