Global Smartphones Shipments to Fall 12 Percent in 2020 Due to Coronavirus: IDC

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted business supply chains but also squeezed consumer spending worldwide.

Global Smartphones Shipments to Fall 12 Percent in 2020 Due to Coronavirus: IDC

Photo Credit: Reuters

In China, IDC expects a single-digit decline in this year

Highlights
  • Smartphone shipments will fall to 1.2 billion units in 2020, IDC said
  • IDC cited lower consumer spending due to coronavirus pandemic
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has also disrupted business supply chains
Advertisement

Global smartphone shipments will fall nearly 12 percent to 1.2 billion units in 2020, market research firm IDC said on Wednesday, citing lower consumer spending due to the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted business supply chains, with major smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung flagging financial hits, but also squeezed consumer spending worldwide.

"Nationwide lockdowns and rising unemployment have reduced consumer confidence and reprioritized spending towards essential goods, directly impacting the uptake of smartphones in the short term", said Sangeetika Srivastava, senior research analyst with IDC.

Apple, which was forced to shut retail stores in the United States and Europe following the outbreak, introduced discounts on the iPhone 11 in China and released a new low-price iPhone SE model to weather a plunge in global smartphone demand.

Research firm TrendForce said in April it expected global smartphone production to slump a record 16.5 percent in the June quarter from a year earlier.

That follows a 10 percent drop in output worldwide in the March quarter, when the outbreak spread and peaked in China before sweeping through Europe and the United States.

However, shipments from China's factories to vendors rose 17 percent in April from a year earlier, suggesting signs of an early rebound in domestic demand in the world's largest smartphone market.

In China, where the economy has begun to reopen and factories have resumed operations, IDC expects a single-digit decline in this year.

The research firm also expects upcoming 5G deployment to help the recovery of smartphone shipments next year, adding it does not expect growth to return until the first quarter of 2021.

© Thomson Reuters 2020


Is Realme TV the best TV under Rs. 15,000 in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Why Is Facebook Blocking the Sikh Hashtag From Some Users?
Searching 'Racist' on Twitter Brings Up Trump as Top Result
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »