Sales of memory cards grew by 70% in the first nine months of 2023

Over nine months in the Russian Federation, online sales of memory cards for smartphones, drones, cameras, etc. increased by 70%, retailers told Kommersant. Among the market leaders are the American Kingstone and Sandisk, as well as the Chinese Netac. Retailers attribute the growth to strong demand for Chinese smartphones that have an additional slot for memory expansion. But experts consider the use of drone maps and body cameras by participants in military operations in Ukraine and security officials to be a more significant factor.

In January-October 2023, 70% more memory cards were sold online than in the same period last year – a total of 2.9 million units, a source familiar with data from the analytical agency GFK told Kommersant. According to his information, in monetary terms the market grew by 27%, to 2.2 billion rubles. More than half of it (58%) was occupied by micro-sdxc memory cards, which are used in smartphones, drones, video cameras, etc., their sales have doubled over the year. The leader, Kommersant’s interlocutor clarified, remains the American Kingstone with 26%, followed by the American Sandisk with 8% and the Chinese Netac with 7%.

According to MTS, 5.5 million cards worth 4.7 billion rubles were sold in retail and online in ten months, which is an increase of 7% in units and 28% in money year-on-year: “The trend can be explained by the growth in sales of Chinese phones , which are usually equipped with a slot for additional memory. Now the share of Chinese smartphones in the Russian market is 85% in units.” Due to the cessation of official supplies of Apple and Samsung smartphones to Russia, Chinese manufacturers have begun to actively promote themselves in the country. Some of them are preparing to open branded stores in 2024 (see Kommersant, October 5).

Yandex Market reported that sales of memory cards on the site from January to October doubled in units, and in money increased 1.7 times: “The demand for cards in the low and medium price segment is growing the most. This is explained by the demand among Russian buyers for smartphones from Chinese manufacturers with expandable memory.”

A representative of the site clarified that in the high price segment there is a growing demand for professional cards with high data transfer rates and large amounts of memory. These, he says, are used in cameras, action cameras and smartphones of more expensive models.

At restore: they say that in their network over nine months, sales of memory cards have increased by 50% in units: “As a rule, such cards are universal and are used in different devices.”

At the same time, Kommersant’s interlocutor among electronics distributors believes that the increase in demand for memory cards is due to an increase in sales of quadcopters with a video camera, which are used during military operations in Ukraine. In May alone, their sales on marketplaces increased 13 times (see Kommersant on May 15).

The increase in demand for memory cards is also associated with the partial opening of the sky for drone flights in some regions, believes First Deputy General Director of Fly Drone Alexander Kaniovsky. According to him, a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation have allowed drone flights for government needs – these are mainly tasks of remote zoning of land. “Such missions typically use memory cards; survey materials are recorded on them. Materials for customers are often transferred on these same cards,” explains Mr. Kaniovsky.

Memory cards are used in drones, but for these devices they are purchased “not in such large quantities,” says Natalya Malkova, CEO of GEO Innoter LLC. According to her, memory cards are purchased in large volumes for body cameras of law enforcement officers, traffic police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, security specialists and participants in military operations: “The greatest increase in demand for memory cards is observed among participants in the military service and border services, where it is necessary to record the ongoing action.” .

Timofey Kornev