Smartphone sales rebound on shift to high end brands

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine smartphone shipments returned to growth territory in the first half, with Filipinos now investing in higher priced brands, according to research firm International Data Corp.

IDC Philippines’ Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker released yesterday showed smartphone shipments in the first semester grew by 5.6 percent year-on-year to 7.8 million units.

The outcome is a turnaround from the 6.6 percent decline experienced in the first half of 2017, which resulted in a seven percent full year drop.

IDC attributed this year’s growth in the smartphone market to the increase in shipments of midrange smartphones or those selling between $200 and $400, even as the ultra-low-end smartphones or those selling below $100 still hold the biggest market share.

The average selling price of a smartphone rose to $192 in the first half compared with the $127 in the same period last year.

“The higher average selling price indicates that end users are willing to invest in a phone with better specifications and features to suit their latest needs. Use of phones have become heavier, aside from end users being accustomed to using smartphones as a platform for capturing, sharing, saving content, and streaming videos, engaging in higher form of mobile gaming has also been emerging” IDC Philippines market analyst Polyne Gallevo said.

Gallevo said the availability of payment options has also continued to make purchasing higher priced smartphones less taxing for end users, with financing companies such as Home Credit and Flexi Finance, as well as instore retail credit allowing customers who do not own credit cards to get installment plans to make payments lighter.