Sales of tablets in Russia increased by 30%, budget models are especially popular

Based on the results of three quarters, tablet sales in the Russian Federation increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, to 1.7 million devices, retailers calculated. According to market participants, sales of devices in the low price segment are growing fastest, and the main share in it is occupied by retailers’ own brands (private brands). The increased demand is associated not only with the expansion of the range of Chinese vendors, but also with the sending of cheap tablets to the Northern Military District zone for controlling drones, experts say.

Over nine months, the number of tablets sold in the Russian Federation increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, to 1.7 million devices; in monetary terms, this figure increased by 24%, to 35.6 billion rubles, MTS told Kommersant. According to their data, the fastest growing segment was the low price segment (devices up to 10 thousand rubles), where the main share was occupied by private label tablets. MTS noted that devices costing up to 10 thousand rubles. In physical terms, they occupy 29% of the market, from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles – 39%, and tablets from 20 thousand to 30 thousand rubles – 16%. Of the brands, the first place was taken by Chinese Huawei with a share of 16% (the same figure a year earlier), Samsung in second place with 15% (26% in 2022), private labels in third place with an unchanged 14%, and Apple devices with 12% (9%). According to Holodilnik.ru commercial director Alexey Pogudalov, the fastest growing Russian tablet brands are BQ, Digma and TopDevice.

According to M.Video-Eldorado, tablets in the basic and mid-price segments are in greatest demand among Russians – “approximately 70% of sales are taken by tablets with a screen larger than 10 inches, sales of models with Wi-Fi only connections reached 45% and for the first time surpassed devices with LTE.” The three most popular brands, according to the retailer, include Huawei, Samsung, and Apple, “at the same time, Chinese realme, Xiaomi and other Asian vendors have significantly strengthened their positions and already occupy a significant share.” According to a representative of M.Video-Eldorado, the increased demand for tablets is associated with the emergence of new lines of previously well-known brands, as well as the expansion of the range of new Chinese vendors.

PR Director of Inventive Retail Group Lyudmila Semushina separately noted the increase in demand for Apple tablets. According to her data, over nine months in the restore network: iPad sales increased by 25% in units. The growth in demand for Apple tablets is due not only to the base of loyal fans of the brand, but also to the fact that the iPad is in demand as a working tool among some specialists, for example from the field of design, adds business analyst of the Fplus IT holding Arthur Makhlayuk. He noted that the peak demand for tablets in 2023 occurred during the season when children returned to school. Also, according to Mr. Makhlayuk, demand for devices from Chinese Redmi, Honor, Blackview and Teclast has more than doubled.

However, according to TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov, the increase in demand for cheap tablets is also due to the fact that such devices are used as screens for controlling drones in the war zone in Ukraine. “Tablets, like drones, are consumables in the North-West zone, so there is no point in purchasing expensive devices. However, for obvious reasons, they do not fail as often as drones, so their purchases will not increase significantly,” he notes. Sales of small quadcopters have increased by 10–20 times due to their use in the Northern Military District last year (see Kommersant on October 14). One of Kommersant’s interlocutors in the UAV market confirmed that the tablet can be used as a drone control panel if the necessary software can be installed on it, “mostly all programs work only on Android or iOS.”

Timofey Kornev