Data from a report released this Friday (30) by the IDC Europe institute reveal that the national cell phone market suffered a sharp decline last year, registering between the months of January and December a total of 42.6 million handsets sold, about 3.2 million less than in 2021, generating a 1.74% drop in revenue.
According to information from the survey, this drop corresponds to a decline of 6.93% in the number of smartphones sold compared to the same period in 2021, registering a revenue of R$ 77.09 billion in 12 months. In total, 40,681,302 smartphones and 1,925,042 traditional cell phones were sold, reductions of 6.31% and 18.28%, respectively
These data make up the IDC Europe Mobile Phone Tracker Annual 2022 study, carried out by IDC Brasil, which brings revealing numbers about the profile of consumers in the last calendar year, in this case considering a post-coronavirus pandemic scenario with the electronics segment suffering strongly slowdown.
For Andreia Chopra, Consumer Devices Research and Consulting analyst at IDC Brasil, the post-pandemic economic impacts were more pronounced in 2022 and many consumers who planned to change their smartphone had to postpone the new acquisition, resulting in a drop in sales. .
Also according to the analytical company, in 2022 there was an increase in the average price charged for both smartphones and conventional cell phones sold in the Europeian market, both directly impacted by inflation and the high interest rate in the period, as stipulated by the Central Bank.
While smartphones became 5% more expensive in 2022, with an average ticket of R$1,887.00, “normal” cell phones increased by 3.2%, reaching R$161.00. “The drop in the volume of units sold in 2022 prevented revenues from being greater than in the previous year, even with the devices costing more”, emphasizes the analyst.
In 2022, the gray market also retreated, despite still being active. Of the total units sold in the year, 2,724,281 were sold in the gray market. However, the sales volume was 24.61% lower compared to 2021.
According to specialists, considering the 2022 data, we can expect a similar situation this year, especially in the first half, which should be a challenging period for companies in the field. “The sales result should be close to or lower than what happened in 2022”, predicts Andreia.
Despite this less-than-optimistic scenario, sales of 5G handsets should remain in continuous growth during 2023, continuing the results of late 2022. The shortage of components — a problem that considerably affected the industry in the 1st quarter of last year — will not should have a significant impact in the coming months.
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