Smartphone ownership continues to be on the uptrend across Southeast Asia, with the Philippines seeing a fifth of the expansion in terms of sales volume, a German market-research agency revealed.
In the 12-month period ended in August, smartphone turnover in the seven markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia rose to a high of nearly 120 million units, Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) said.
The latest findings for the region reflect a spike in smartphone, including phablets, sales by 44 percent in volume and 24 percent in value compared to the same period a year ago.
“The big developing countries are the ones fueling the strong surge in adoption, as many [areas] outside the big cities are probably just making the switch from their basic feature phone and acquiring their first smartphone,” highlighted Gerard Tan, account director for Digital World at GfK Asia.
Based on the latest data from GfK, fastest-growing markets in terms of volume turnover in the past 12 months were Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, which reported 70-percent, 56-percent and 44- percent spike in demand over the previous period. In value terms, it was Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, which drew in 52-percent, 32-percent and 31- percent hikes in sales against last year.
At home, smartphone sales volume rose by 22 percent to 6.736 million units in the 12-month period, from 5.527 million units the year prior.
“A key driver fueling the strong market performance, especially in the developing countries, is the introduction of more low-end models by new Chinese manufacturers, making smartphones more affordable and taking competition
in the marketplace to an even more intense level,” Tan said.
“These budget smartphone models have gone down particularly well in the developing markets.”
Although international brands dominate the region’s smartphone market, Chinese brands are gaining significant presence, he added.
“Major international brands are losing shares to the Chinese brands in price competition due to the low cost of the latter, which are selling their smartphones, including phablets, within the $50-to-$200 range,” Tan noted.
More than 345 Chinese-branded smartphones now exist across the region. While an internationally branded smartphone averaged at around $253, a Chinese-branded one cost only $159—58 percent lower.
“Competition in the market will further intensify, as Chinese manufacturers are stepping up their activities in more countries, notably Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand,” Tan said.