Phl smartphone sales surge in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - More Pinoy consumers chose  smartphones over basic  mobile phones in the first nine months of the year, a trend seen across Southeast Asia which saw a steady increase in  smartphone sales.

In a survey, global research firm GfK said the number of smartphones sold in the Philippines rose 42 percent  to 5.1 million units in the first nine months of  the year from a year ago.

The growth in the sales of smartphones, however, was not enough to offset the 25 percent drop in sales of basic or less function-rich feature mobile phones resulting in a two-percent decline in the total sales volume of mobile phones in the Philippines for the nine-month period.

In terms of value, sales of smartphones in the country went up 39 percent to  $1.24 billion from January to September this year,  bringing the overall sales figure (smartphones plus basic phones) up by a double-digit rate of 12 percent  as smartphones are more expensive than feature phones.

According to  GfK survey, consumers in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines spent $10.8 billion on nearly 41.5 million units of smartphones in the first nine months of the year due to the ongoing trend of upgrading from basic mobile phones to smartphones.

Indonesia has the greatest smartphone sales with 14.8 million smartphones worth over $3.33 billion.

Thailand and Malaysia are countries with the next highest smartphone sales volume with 7.2 million and 6.4 million units sold respectively.

In terms of smartphone sales revenue, Malaysia garnered $2.25 billion while Thailand raked in $1.96 billion in the January to September.

 â€œThe increasing affordability of smartphones, particularly in the developing markets is helping many consumers in these countries make the switch from their basic feature phones to own their very first smartphone,” said Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital Technology at GfK Asia.

 â€œIt is worth highlighting the significant milestone of September being the month whereby sales penetration reached the halfway mark; where one in every two mobile handsets purchased in the region is now a smartphone.”

According to GfK findings comparing January to September in 2013 to 2012, fastest growing market for smartphones were Vietnam and Thailand, both of which reported more than twofold surge, by 156 and 118 percent respectively in volume, and 113 and 114 percent in value.

In terms of operating systems, Android, with its 72 percent market share continues to be increasingly sought after across six of the markets. This platform is most widespread in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore where the operating system now makes up 91, 83 and 81 percent of total smartphone sales in the respective countries.

In Indonesia, proportion of Android smartphones sales jumped by 23 percent within a year, from 37 to the current 60 percent.

Another smartphone feature that is rising in prevalence is larger screen sizes. For instance, four- inch and above smartphones which used to occupy 13 percent of the total sales last year has more than doubled its share. In the first nine months of this year, one in four smartphones sold has a screen size of at least four inches.