COVID-19 Causes Severe Slowdown in South Africa's Smartphone Market

South Africa's smartphone market saw shipments decline 22.9% quarter on quarter in Q1 2020, according to the latest insights from global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC). While shipments are traditionally weaker in Q1 than in Q4, the major reason behind the underperformance of the market was the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 outbreak halted production in China, with the resultant supply shortages effectively severing smartphone shipments into the South African in Q1 2020. "The country's poor QoQ performance was due to delays in shipments of mobile phone devices into the country," says Arnold Ponela, a research analyst at IDC. "Economic activity is usually slow in the first quarter of the year, but this was exacerbated by uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis. With the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy, consumer demand declined substantially and channel activity was restricted due to lockdown measures and security issues."

Despite all these challenges around supply and demand, Samsung continues to top the smartphone space in terms of overall smartphone shipments, accounting for 29.9% of the market's units in Q1 2020. Samsung's lead was driven by the launch of various new affordable and feature-rich models such as its new A series and S series range. Mobicel (17.7%) and Huawei (15.9%) followed in second and third place, respectively.

Image: View breakdown of top 5 smartphone brands in South Africa

Looking ahead, IDC expects South Africa's overall mobile phone market to experience a further double-digit decline in Q2 2020 caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. "Consumer demand will be severely affected, with the majority of consumer budgets being directed towards essential consumption," says Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC. "Throughout 2020, the fallout from the COVID-19 crisis will compound South Africa's existing local and macroeconomic challenges. As such, we expect smartphone shipments to the country to decline 6.1% year on year for 2020 as a whole." 

For more information, please contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com or on +971 4 446 3154.

Mild Decline in Egypt Smartphone Market in Q1 2020 Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Cairo, June 15, 2020 – Egypt's smartphone market experienced one of the smallest declines in the whole Middle East and North Africa region in Q1 2020, according to the latest research conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC). The global technology and consulting services firm's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker shows that smartphone shipments to the country declined 6.3% quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q1 2020 to total 2.82 million units, making up 75.0% of overall mobile phone shipments for the quarter. The global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Egypt's smartphone market in two phases — first through disruptions to supplies from China, and then through weakened consumer demand from the middle of March.

Looking at the vendor landscape, Oppo led the country's smartphone market in terms of shipments in Q1 2020, followed closely by Samsung. Xiaomi and realme are focused on increasing the market shares they gained over the course of 2019. "The established Chinese vendors like Transsion (i.e., Infinix, Tecno, and Itel) and Huawei are challenged by supply-chain disruptions and an influx of more affordable models from the competition," says Taher Abdel Hameed, a senior research analyst at IDC. "However, the fallout from COVID-19 will cause hardships even for the fast-growing brands throughout the remainder of 2020 and will force them to adjust their pricing and model portfolio strategies."

Image: View breakdown of top 5 smartphone brands in Egypt

Looking ahead, a steeper decline is forecast for Q2 2020, with most mobile phone stores operating at 50% capacity due to lockdown measures and curfews. "Despite a general slowdown in consumer demand and a slow second quarter, Egypt is the region's best candidate to turn to a fast recovery track," says Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC. "Overall, the Egyptian market is expected to have a positive economic outlook for 2020 and will heal fast from COVID-19 crisis."

For more information about the event, please contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com or on +971 4 446 3154.