According to Gartner, Inc. latest release, smartphone sales grew 6 per cent in 2021, across the globe. Smartphone sales rebounded in the first half of 2021, following a 12.5 per cent decline in 2020.
The year 2020 witnessed a lower smartphone sales because of covid-19 and the bounced back to growth in first half of 2021 thereby helping propel the market to growth.
However, component shortages and supply chain issues disrupted smartphone sales in the second half of 2021.
Commenting on the release, Anshul Gupta, senior research director, Gartner, said, “An improved consumer outlook, pent up demand from 2020 in large markets, such as India and China, helped drive sales in the first half of the year. However, this trend reversed in the second half of the year, even with high demand from consumers. Out-of-stock situations for popular models and limited inventories pushed out some of the possible sales to 2022.”
The increase in discretionary spending, opening of marketplaces post lockdown, along with a lower base for comparison from 2020 led to 6 per cent growth in 2021. The introduction of 5G at lower price points to meet future proof needs influenced upgrade purchases. As a result, smartphone sales grew for all the top five vendors in 2021.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, global smartphone sales declined 1.7 per cent owing to supply constraints. Apple maintained the top position among the top five smartphone vendors. The strong demand for iPhones was driven by 5G upgrades. Meanwhile, Samsung saw strong demand for its premium phones, and its sales increased 11 per cent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
