China-based smartphone brands saw their combined shipments slip 5.2% sequentially and 4.6% on year to come to around 150 million units in the second quarter of 2022, according to figures from DIGITIMES Research’s Smartphone Tracker.
The declines were a result of weak domestic demand for smartphones and brand vendors cutting orders for the quarter to clear excess channel inventories as their sales overseas were seriously undermined by rising inflation.
With demand expected to stay in low gear, Chinese smartphone brands’ combined shipments are unlikely to see a seasonal pick up in the second half of 2022 with their shipments during the period likely to stay flat.
The top-3 Chinese brands – Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo – all experienced sequential decline in the second quarter with Vivo having the worst drop. The three brands together accounted for 63.6% of all Chinese brands’ shipments in the second quarter, down from first-quarter 2022’s 65.1%, DIGITIMES Research numbers show.
Since China’s economy and unemployment rate are expected to worsen, demand from the domestic market will stay feeble in the second half, pushing the brands to be more keen on digesting excess inventory. The rising global inflation continues to undermine overseas demand for IT products including smartphones, especially in emerging markets and for entry-level to mid-range devices.
DIGITIMES Research expects Chinese smartphone brands’ combined shipments will see a double-digit on-year decrease in both the third and fourth quarters.
