Smartphone sales surging, research firm says

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Smartphone sales in the Philippines grew by double digit in the 12 months through August this year, as inexpensive Chinese brands continue to penetrate the local market, data from Singapore-based research firm GfK.

Data provided by GfK showed that smartphone sales volume in the Philippines grew by about 22 percent to 6.74 million units. That figure, relatively small considering the 120 million smartphone units worth $16.4 billion sold in Southeast Asia, points to growing demand and competition, GfK said.

“Competition in the market will further intensify, as Chinese manufacturers step up their activities in more countries, notably Singapore, Philippines and Thailand,” Gerard Tan, account director for digital world at GfK Asia, said in a statement.

“However, with the much-anticipated launch of new models by several international brands, we can expect to witness some fierce competition in this region; with the consumers seen as the eventual winners in the price wars,” he said.

Growth in smartphone sales was seen across the region, with the sale of 120 million units representing a 44-percent gain year-on-year. The survey tracked data across seven markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

“The big developing countries are the ones fueling a surge in the adoption, as many outside the big cities are probably just starting to switch from their basic feature phones to their first smartphones,” Tan said.

“For instance, the markets of Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have performed extremely well this year, reporting high growth of over 30 percent in generated revenue and even more in sales volume,” he added.

Based on the latest data from GfK, the fastest-growing markets in terms of volume turnover in the past 12 months were Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, which reported 70, 56 and 44 percent spike in demand over the previous period.

Indonesia is the only market where homegrown brands have continued to grow in popularity, garnering over 16 percent share in volume and 7 percent share in value of the local market.–Miguel Camus