Chinese smartphone sales were down roughly 20% year-on-year in March, reflecting the triple-whammy delivered by the coronavirus crisis.
Production was disrupted, reducing supply; many retail stores were closed in early March, leading to fewer purchase opportunities; and lost income during lockdowns would have reduced demand for expensive consumer electronics purchases …
Reuters reports.
Apple had one of its worst months ever in China in February, selling only around half a million iPhones, but there were the first signs of recovery in March.
That was a more than three-fold increase from February, yet still down roughly 20% compared with March 2019.
The Cupertino company doesn’t reveal unit sales, but the Chinese government publishes data on total smartphone sales and on Android sales, with iPhone sales making up the difference between the two.
While China was hit first, tough lockdown measures have created hope that the country will also be the first to recover, meaning that tech firms will be looking to the region for some relief in the face of a global recession.
Local brand Xiaomi recently revealed its own earnings report, in which the company’s CFO said that Chinese smartphone sales were now back up to 80% of normal levels.
Many smartphone makers are now hoping that sales in China can cushion declines in overseas markets in coming months.
There do remain some doubts, however, as to the accuracy of the health data published by the Chinese government, which is extremely keen to see the country return to full production as quickly as possible.
