Demand for smartphones in Russia grew in early 2023

The demand for smartphones among Russians among a number of retailers in early 2023 began to recover after a sharp decline last year, it is expected that sales will increase in the absence of shocks in the market, interviewed market participants told RIA Novosti.

“We see a positive trend in the first 1.5 months of this year, while it is premature to talk about noticeable growth figures compared to last year,” the press service of M.Video-Eldorado told the agency. It is noted that demand drivers include the release of a number of new products and variability in the assortment, as well as activity and promotions before the spring holidays.

In the retail of the mobile operator “MegaFon” also recorded an increase in sales of smartphones in the network’s stores compared to the middle of last year. According to the operator’s sales director David Borzilov, this is due to the increase in credit programs and the expansion of the range, in particular, with the appearance of the iPhone 14 and other new products in retail. “But these two factors do not yet give grounds to predict an increase in consumer demand throughout 2023,” he said.

The press service of MTS noted the gradual recovery of Russians’ interest in smartphones. According to them, on average, in 2022, the number of smartphones sold in the operator’s stores in Russia decreased by 20% in annual terms. However, in late 2022 and early 2023, the decline slowed to 10%. “Now we see a trend towards an increase in demand and further – the number of visitors to the MTS online store website and traffic at points of sale are growing,” they noted.

According to the mobile operator Beeline, in 2022 the smartphone market in Russia decreased by 2021 by 28% in monetary terms and by 22% in unit terms. Apple’s exit from the market and the ensuing supply disruptions affected this the most. Among the other brands, a redistribution of shares was observed – the Tecno and Infinix brands actively grew, according to the operator, in total they increased their share to 9% of sales in monetary terms and up to 20% in unit terms at the end of 2022. Despite this, at the end of the year, the Apple and Samsung brands remained one of the market leaders.

“People have no more money, they still rely on the economy and extending the life of their smartphones. At the same time, you need to understand that a number of people’s phones simply fail and they need to change them. In my opinion, if no extraordinary events in 2023, smartphone sales should increase,” Denis Kuskov, CEO of the Telecom Daily information and analytical agency, shared his opinion with RIA Novosti.

The expert recalled that according to Telecom Daily, at the end of 2022, about 24 million smartphones were sold, a year earlier – more than 30 million, the fall is slightly more than 20%.