Russians continue to spend more of their disposable income on phones and the first quarter of 2018 confirmed the trend, according to IDC.
The total value of the Russian mobile phone market was $1.63 billion in the first quarter of 2018, marking the highest-ever figure for the first quarter of the year and beating the first quarter of 2014, the boom year in the market before the rouble crash. The first quarter also saw the largest volume of smartphone imports into Russia in a first quarter, at 6.3 million units.
Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy J-series is selling better than its flagship S9 model in Russia.
In the first quarter of 2018, Samsung continued to hold a quarter of the smartphone market in terms of volume, while Huawei held steady in second with a market volume share approximately half that of Samsung’s. Xiaomi continues to climb and almost matched Huawei’s share.
The trend of purchasing higher-price devices continued, with the ASP of an Android smartphone rising to $175, which is the highest ASP seen since the third quarter of 2014.
According to official statistics, mobile phone imports into Russia have now reached a value comparable to imports of foreign cars. Many import categories remain well below the levels recorded before the rouble crash. IDC’s Simon Baker commented:
“Despite the higher price, Russian consumers want seriously performing products for their money and there is less straightforward fashion and bling in what they buy than there was before the crash.
Before the crash, sales in the lower-middle of the market were small, especially for Android phones. The top end was strong and so were the lowest market segments but now we’re seeing more growth in the $200 to $300 price range”.
IDC Russia’s Natalia Vinogradova also said:
“Far fewer entry-level smartphones are sold now than just a year ago. Among Samsung models, for example, sensible J and A series mid-range models sell better than the new flagship Galaxy 9, which has found only a niche in the Russian market. Although Apple continues to do well, the cheapest SE model is the most popular, followed by the iPhone 8 and 7 models, rather than the new X”.
Among other brands, the story is similar. Huawei’s middle-of-the-road P Smart and its Honor 9 and 9 Lite are the manufacturer’s most popular models. Xiaomi’s leading model is the somewhat lowly Redmi 5A, says IDC.
Analysts expect continuing strong smartphones sales in Russia throughout 2018, despite the recent wobble in the rouble following additional American sanctions. One key trend helping to boost the market this year will be a slew of new models with 18:9 aspect ratio screens or similar.
IDC is projecting that these new screens, which fill up more of the surface of the phone without necessarily meaning a larger phone corpus, will quickly become common in mid-range models, not just premium flagships.
