The electronics market is getting cheaper – Newspaper Kommersant No. 39 (7484) of 03/09/2023

Electronics suppliers and chain stores reported that in the first eight weeks of 2023, sales of consumer telecom electronics (smartphones, headphones, etc.) fell by 11-12% in units and 32-40% in money terms. According to market participants, the decline was due to the fact that buyers are starting to save more and more. Experts believe that in terms of units the market will gradually recover, but in terms of money the fall will continue due to a decrease in sales of premium devices.

According to the results of the first seven weeks of 2023, the consumer telecommunications equipment market (it includes smartphones, headsets, headphones, etc.) fell by 11.4% in units and by 30% in money, Holodilnik.ru told Kommersant. They specified that in January sales fell by 13.3%, to 7.5 million devices, and in money – by 40%, to 58.3 billion rubles. According to Artur Makhlayuk, a business analyst at F+ tech-Marvel Group of Companies, in eight weeks of 2023, sales of consumer telecommunications electronics fell by 12% in units and by 32.5% in money “due to the departure of the former leaders from the market.”

Sales of smartphones in January, according to Holodilnik.ru, in pieces decreased by 13%, to 2.3 million devices (the volume is included in the total amount of 7.5 million devices), and in money – by 43%, to 50 billion rubles. Most of all, the decline in the share in monetary terms is noticeable in Samsung and Apple (by 35% and 18%, respectively), specify in Holodilnik.ru. This data is confirmed by the interlocutor of Kommersant in the electronics market. “At the same time, a noticeable growth is observed among Chinese brands such as Realme and Xiaomi,” Holodilnik.ru says, explaining that consumers have become less likely to update their devices and repair them more often. Mr. Makhlaiuk confirms that Chinese smartphones are occupying an increasing share of the market: “For example, over 26,000 Oppo devices were sold in the eighth week of 2023, while only 7,000 were sold in the same period last year.”

After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, many foreign manufacturers limited the supply of products to the Russian Federation, among them – Apple, Samsung, Dell, etc. As a result, at the end of last year, the Chinese Xiaomi became the new leader in the number of devices sold on the market, occupying 33% (see chart). “Kommersant” dated December 8, 2022).

The peak of the decline in demand occurred in the second quarter of 2022 due to a shortage in the supply of key brands in both the category of smartphones and headphones and headsets, a Citilink representative explains. According to him, after filling the assortment with new brands and establishing parallel imports, the market began to recover, but the indicators have not yet reached the results of last year. “According to the results of the first month and a half, demand is still below the level of the beginning of 2022, but we see a gradual trend towards recovery,” agreed M.Video-Eldorado. In January and early February, the market in pieces decreased by about 10% compared to last year, but this is “three times better than the average dynamics of last year,” says a source in the electronics sales segment.

The Russian smartphone market in 2023 will not be able to return to the level of 2021 (then about 30 million devices were sold) for at least another two years, neither in quantitative nor in monetary terms, Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, believes. According to him, about 26 million smartphones will be sold in 2023. This is almost a quarter more than in 2022, but “we are talking mainly about Chinese brands, whose average bill is an order of magnitude lower than premium American and South Korean vendors, so the Russian market is unlikely to recover in money terms.”

Timofey Kornev