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LATAM Smartphone Shipments Recover With 42% YoY Growth in Q2 2021

Boston, Toronto, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – August 19, 2020

LATAM smartphone shipment increased 41.8% YoY in Q2 2021 but declined 6.5% compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest Market Monitor report from Counterpoint Research. Smartphone demand in the region grew steadily but volume growth was impacted by the ongoing chipset shortages and manufacturing constraints.

The region is still suffering from COVID-19. Only a couple of countries have been able to fully vaccinate more than half of their population. Therefore, most countries are enduring various degrees and forms of lockdown, leading to an economic slowdown. This, in turn, has affected the purchasing ASP (average selling price) rather than the rate of replacement.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “LATAM countries’ growth or decline rates varied during the quarter. Brazil was one of the most impacted by component shortages as it has a limited number of brands. On the other hand, Mexico grew compared to the previous quarter, fuelled by fierce competition from new entrants. This led to a larger TAM (Total Addressable Market) in the second biggest market of the region.”

Smartphone Shipment Market Share, Q2 2021

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q2 2021

Lu added, “The volume of most of the brands grew in double or even triple digits YoY. Samsung was the most affected due to the constraints related to its Vietnam factory. Brazilian manufacturing also had supply issues. However, retailers and operators had accumulated some supplies, softening the drop in sell-through. But sell-in was severely impacted. Still, Samsung remains the leading brand in the region, except Mexico and Peru.”

Smartphone Shipment OEM Ranking by Country, Q2 2021

Motorola gained both volume and share in Q2 2021. It capitalized on some of the volume lost by Samsung due to product constraints in the region. In Mexico, it became the market leader. Colombia was the only country that saw a substantial drop in Motorola’s volume affected by Xiaomi. It remains a solid second player in the region.

Xiaomi saw its highest growth ever in the LATAM region. Its volume more than tripled YoY, aided by Huawei’s decline. Xiaomi is now the third-largest player in the region. It has surpassed Samsung to become the number one brand in Peru, the first LATAM country to make it the market leader. In Colombia, it remains slightly below the market leader, Samsung. But Xiaomi’s LATAM growth might slow down due to increasing competition from other Chinese brands.

ZTE volume and share also increased. The brand is increasing its tie-ups with carriers. It benefited from the product supply constraints in the $100 and below segment and LG’s exiting the mobile device market. LG still has some demand, but Samsung, Motorola, ZTE and others are quickly grabbing its volume.

Apple decreased in volume compared to the previous quarter. This is due to the usual seasonality where its sales volume decreases as it gets closer to a new launch. But still, the best-selling model for the American OEM during Q2 2021 was the iPhone 11.

OPPO is the most successful among the Chinese brands that entered the region during the last year or so. However, almost 90% of its volume is concentrated in Mexico. OPPO is placing resources in other LATAM countries, but it still needs to build its branding there. It was in Mexico for a short period in 2017 and is now benefitting from the brand-building undertaken then.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q2 2021 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Feel free to contact us at press(at)counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth research and insights, or for press enquiries.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

LATAM Smartphone Shipments up 22.1% YoY in Q1 2021; Samsung Leads With 42% Share

Boston, Toronto, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – June 10, 2021

LATAM smartphone shipments surged by 22.1% YoY in Q1 2021 but decreased by 4.8% QoQ due to seasonality, according to the latest Market Monitor report from Counterpoint Research. The competition fuelled by Samsung and Motorola launching refreshed models and new Chinese OEMs entering the region drove the market growth.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “In Q1 2021, the region’s smartphone market saw an extraordinary 22.1% growth, as last year it was impacted by a shortage of products coming from China, and COVID-19 lockdowns by the end of the quarter. This year, it still faced some product shortages due to inadequate component supplies, especially the chipset. But this impacted mainly the ‘Local Kings’ and smaller brands, as their negotiating power is lower.”

Lu added, “The first quarter of the year is usually a slow one, as most of the Southern Hemisphere is on summer holidays. But fierce competition fuelled by new Chinese OEMs entering the region and Samsung launching new models in the A-series while increasing advertising to announce the S-series, drove the market growth. This shows that the smartphone market is resilient in the face of tough conditions due to the pandemic. Brazil ranks third globally in terms of most number of COVID-19 cases while Mexico ranks fourth among countries with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths.”

Smartphone Shipment Market Share, Q1 2021

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q1 2021

Commenting on the regional performance, Research Analyst Parv Sharma said, “All major LATAM countries except Chile saw double-digit growth. Argentina, Peru and Brazil drove the region’s overall growth. The economic recession due to the pandemic failed to diminish the volume of smartphones sold in the region, partly because of the smartphone becoming an essential gadget and partly due to the OEMs driving the market. However, the pandemic did impact the consumer’s smartphone purchase budget, which the OEMs were fast to react to and increase their entry-level models.”

Smartphone Shipment Growth by Country, Q1 2021 vs Q1 2020

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q1 2021

Market summary

Samsung remained the region’s leading brand. It was aggressive on the sell-in front. Four out of ten smartphones sold in the LATAM market were from this OEM.
Samsung’s volume increased QoQ despite the seasonality factor. It started 2021 by renewing part of its A-series portfolio. It also advertised heavily during the launch of new flagship models — Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra — in February. This drove higher sales for all the other lines from this brand.
Motorola volume increased more than 88% YoY. This growth came from the ground gained from Huawei and due to supply constraints faced by the OEM last year following the COVID-19 outbreak in China.
Motorola remained a solid second player in the region, although closely challenged by Xiaomi and even OPPO in Mexico.
Xiaomi continued its YoY growth. However, the growth reached a plateau during the quarter as Xiaomi has no local manufacturing in Brazil. At the same time, it is still building its brand in the rest of LATAM.
Xiaomi’s growth has been slightly challenged by new Chinese entrants in some countries, such as Colombia, Chile and Mexico.
Apple continues to grow. It leads the introduction of 5G handsets in the region with the iPhone 12 model. However, the iPhone 11 still takes a large portion of its volume.
ZTE doubled its volume and increased its share YoY. The brand expanded its participation in the LATAM market by entering the open channel. It is also growing its footprint in Peru and Colombia.
LG also managed to increase its volume and share, which is a breakthrough for the OEM that has been experiencing YoY declines for almost two years. The announcement that it plans to exit the mobile device market did not impact its performance during Q1 2021.
‘Others’ saw a dramatic decrease as ‘Local Kings’ are now playing mostly in the 3G smartphone space. This group was most impacted by the chipset shortage.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q1 2021 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Feel free to contact us at press@counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth research and insights, or for press enquiries.

Background:

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

+54 91160411221
tina@counterpointresearch.com

Parv Sharma

+91 974-259-6030

Parv@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson

+44 7917231934
Peter@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

LATAM Smartphone Market Returned to Growth in Q3 2019

Samsung leads the smartphone market in LATAM with 40% share.

Huawei returns to growth and remains the third-largest smartphone brand.

New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires – November 21st, 2019

After four consecutive quarters of decline, the LATAM smartphone market registered 3.7% growth year over year (YoY) in Q3 2019, with almost all major markets, except Peru, having some level of shipments growth. In terms of brands, Samsung, Huawei and ZTE registered the most significant growth.

Commenting on the market’s development, Counterpoint Research Senior Analyst, Tina Lu, said, “Aggressive price erosion on older models, and the launch of new models, has tempted LATAM consumers to accelerate the replacement of their smartphones. But market concentration increased, with the top three brands now representing 69%, up from 65% in Q3 2018. This four-percentage point increase in concentration was mainly captured by Samsung, as it had the biggest YoY increase among the top three brands”.

Commenting on brand performance, Tina highlighted, “Samsung continues to strengthen its position in the region, reaching an all-time high of 40% share. Samsung combines aggressive pricing, strong brand awareness and an increasingly powerful sales channel push. Its sell-in growth is the result of the consolidation of its A-series across the region, while maintaining the J-series in Argentina and Brazil; several J-series models were still popular in these markets during Q3 2019.”

Parv Sharma, Research Analyst, added, “Huawei came back swiftly following the trade ban in May that caused sales to slow. It is still some distance from its peak in Q1 2019, but it managed to secure YoY growth in both August and September. Huawei’s focus in both Mexico and Colombia has yielded positive results, as it managed to remain a strong number two in both markets. Sales of legacy products should allow Huawei to stay competitive in LATAM market for rest of this year and in to 2020.”

Exhibit: Smartphone Shipment Market Share 2019 Q3

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q3 2019

Market Summary:

Samsung is once again the absolute leader in the LATAM smartphone market. It is the leader in all major LATAM countries, although its leadership position has been closely challenged in Mexico.
Motorola has strong brand recognition in LATAM and, when combined with an attractive and affordable portfolio, it makes for a strong number two in the region. Its robust position in Argentina and Brazil provides a strong platform for continued strength in the region, provided it maintains its product portfolio with similar positioning.
Motorola’s volume increased compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year, as it manages to gain share, partly from LG.
Huawei has been aggressive at regaining share in Mexico, followed by Colombia and Chile. However, Huawei has not made much progress in penetrating the Brazilian market as it does not have the requisite local manufacturing capability.
LG continues to decline in the region. Nevertheless, it has managed to stay among the top three brands in Brazil and Argentina. These two countries represent almost 78% of its regional volume.
ZTE is slowly consolidating its position in the region. Its main market is Mexico, which represents almost half of its volume in the region. ZTE sells almost exclusively through operator channels, and mainly in AMX (America Movil).
TCL is attempting a dual brand strategy. Its Alcatel brand has a long history in the region, and it is pushing for growth again. In addition, it is now offering TCL-branded smartphones as a more premium offering.
Apple lost share and volume YoY, but it maintained share of the installed base. LATAM consumers must pay a hefty premium for iPhones of between 50% and 100% more, compared to US prices. Therefore, many Apple users choose to purchase new Apple devices in the US and then hand-carry to regional markets.
Local Kings’ and smaller brands’ shipments continue to decline, mainly displaced by Huawei and Motorola. Regional brands are mainly competing in the feature phone and low-end 3G smartphones segments.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q3 2019 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at press(at)counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press enquiries. The Market Monitor research is based on sell-in (shipments) estimates based on vendor’s IR results, vendor polling triangulated with sell-through (sales), supply chain checks and secondary research.

You can also visit our Data Section (updated quarterly) to view smartphone market share Globally and from the USA, China and India.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Parv Sharma

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Colombian Smartphone Market Continues to Grow in Q1 2019

Huawei was the fastest growing brand (76% YoY growth including HONOR co-brand), surpassing Motorola to become the second largest brand in Colombia

New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires – May 22^nd, 2019

Smartphone shipments in Colombia grew 2% year-on-year but declined 26% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) during Q1 2019, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. The sequential fall was primarily due to extraordinary volumes in the previous quarter driven by the Christmas holiday season.

Commenting on the findings, Senior Analyst, Tina Lu said, “Four out of top five brands in Colombia have increased shipment volumes YoY during Q1 2019. This is driving consolidation in the market. Top five smartphones brand in Colombia, represented more than 77% of the market, a nearly eight-percentage point increase YoY. This leaves more than 40 brands to fight for the remaining 23% of the market. The device market is already looking very crowded. For any new brand seeking to enter Colombia, it might not be an easy task.”

Commenting further, Tina noted, “The Colombian market was one of the few markets in LATAM that has been growing YoY every single quarter during 2018. Most of the top five brands have increased shipment volumes compared to the previous year, driven by new users and replacements. Smartphone penetration in Colombia was below 65% at the end of 2018. Therefore, there will be new users that would offset replacement slow down. As a result, it still had room to resist the global smartphone market decline. Smartphone growth is also pushing the feature phone segment to a sharp decline.”

Commenting on the pricing strategies, Research Analyst, Parv Sharma, added, “Low-end smartphones dominated the Colombian market. During Q1 2019, eight out of 10 smartphones were below US$200. However, smartphone shipments in the <US$100 price band decreased 11% YoY, while those in the US$100-US$200 price band has grown around 29%. Huawei and Motorola were the main drivers for the growth in this segment. Apple and Samsung controlled the premium segment.”

Exhibit 1: Colombia Smartphone Market Share by Brand, 2018 Q1 vs 2019 Q1

Source: Counterpoint Market Monitor Q1 2019

Samsung is the absolute leader in the Colombian market with a 30% share, an increase of more than one percentage point share compared to the previous year.
Samsung’s ASP increased by 16%, driven by growing volumes in the flagship and mid-to-high price band.
Huawei’s sales volumes (excluding HONOR co-brand) have grown 60% YoY in Q1 2019, and it has become the second largest smartphone brand in Colombia.
Huawei’s co-brand, HONOR, launched in Colombia during H2 2018. It has already managed to capture more than 1% of the Colombian market.
Huawei migrated its portfolio to lower price bands. Its success was a combination of the excellent product lineup, very aggressive pricing, and heavy investment in channel management.
Motorola has managed to increase shipments slightly despite Huawei’s aggressive push.
With Motorola entering Comcel during 2018, it gave the brand extra boost to maintain its share.
Alcatel’s share deteriorated in 2018, especially in the smartphone category. It was one of the many brands that were deeply affected by Huawei.
Lanix was the best-selling local brand. However, its volume decreased by half YoY.
Local Kings got demoted to mainly supplying feature phones and 3G smartphones. They lost market share to the increasing number of Chinese brands.
LTE capable smartphones grew 22% YoY driven by more affordable LTE enabled devices and replacements.
Smartphone ASP has grown almost 13% YoY, boosted by Samsung and Huawei.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q1 2019 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at press(at)counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press inquiries.

For in-depth analysis of the Colombian market, including channel landscape, this report: “Colombia: A Telecom Market Undergoing Transformation” is available for subscribing clients.

The Market Monitor research is based on sell-in (shipments) estimates based on vendor’s IR results, vendor polling triangulated with sell-through (sales), supply chain checks and secondary research.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Parv Sharma

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research

press(at)counterpointresearch.com

USA: Online Smartphone Sales Remain Strong at 13% of Total Sales in Q2 2018; Prime Exclusives by Amazon Drive Sales

Apple iPhones remain the most popular models across both online and offline channels.

San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul August 29th, 2018

According to the latest research from the Counterpoint Smartphone Channel Share Tracker service, the share of online smartphone channels grew to 13% of total US smartphone sales in Q2 2018 compared to 12% in Q1 2018 (see here). However, total online volumes dropped 9% QoQ due to a weak Q2 sales cycle. In fact, total sales in H1 2018 are down 12% compared to 2017. Despite these downward trends in the US smartphone market, online market sales have held steady due to savvy consumers jumping on online-only deals and other online exclusive events such as Amazon’s Prime Day. They are not the same level as China (see here) or India (see here) but the trend is surely shifting.

Commenting on the competitive landscape in Q2, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack highlighted, “Once again, Amazon.com led in online sales with 23% of total smartphones sold online. Prime Exclusive smartphones such as the Moto G6 and the Moto Z3 were successful in driving sales. Beyond Q2, Prime Day was once again a success and saw several unlocked phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro get a boost in sales due to steep discounts. Carriers were able to hold their sales somewhat constant in Q2, offering some online-only discounts that savvy consumers took advantage of. BestBuy and Apple are jostling for third and fourth place as Apple saw a slight downturn in online sales due to customers holding off on new phone purchases until the new iPhone series is announced in the coming month.”

Source: Counterpoint Research – Smartphone Channel Share Tracker Q2 2018

Research Director Peter Richardson, commenting on price bands added, “Online sales in the mid-tier and upper mid-tier price band segments have higher shares compared to offline sales. Many solid unlocked phones are sold in these price ranges, such as the Prime Day LG V35 ThinQ, which was discounted $300. This is a sweet spot for many consumers looking for a quality device, often unlocked, without having to spend a lot of money on more premium devices that may come with certain carrier restrictions or contracts. Offline sales tend to do better at the low end. Sub $100 price band smartphones are most often purchased in brick and mortar stores in national retail and prepaid channels. The premium price bands for both offline and online sales had similar shares. However, online sales in this segment are mainly driven by Apple’s online store and to a lesser extent Samsung’s. It is true that people still want to come in and try devices out first-hand. However, their final purchase decision is split between online and offline channels. Convenience for the customer plays a big role here. Is the device available at the store? Do they need to order it? Can it get delivered with two-day shipping? All these factors come into play.”

Source: Counterpoint Research – Smartphone Channel Share Tracker Q2 2018

Commenting on the US online market dynamics, Research Analyst Maurice Klaehne said, “Amazon has really proven that they are able to capture a significant share of the online smartphone market compared to carriers. In their Q2 earnings calls, all the Big Four carriers commented that their device sales have dipped (see here). Amazon remains very competitive with its pricing and Prime-only deals. These offerings fit nicely within their Amazon Prime membership strategy, as often they can deliver smartphones faster than carriers can. Prime customers are also not locked into buying the limited and sometimes overpriced accessories that carriers have in their stores both online and offline. They have a whole marketplace for accessories to choose from and often these will arrive at the same time as the smartphone.”

Source: Counterpoint Research – Smartphone Channel Share Tracker Q2 2018

Mr. Richardson added, “When you compare online smartphone revenues from Amazon to two of the national retail giants Best-Buy and Walmart, you can see how well it is outpacing the competition. The sheer scale that the online retail giant is able to create with its large device portfolio creates revenues that are larger than both Best-Buy and Walmart combined. Walmart caters more towards low-end devices, both unlocked and prepaid and relies on foot traffic to make sales. Best-Buy on the other hand has very similar products, especially in the premium segment. However, it can’t keep up with the volumes of devices sold by Amazon.”

Commenting on offline channel trends, Mr. Fieldhack added, “Brick and mortar stores will still be one of the main channels for smartphone sales. Physically touching and testing high-end devices is still important for the consumer as flagship ASP’s continue to climb (see here). Stores also provide a better opportunity to up-sell insurance. While Amazon is doing well, carriers still have the upper hand. Online sales will continue to grab small amounts of market share, but it will not spike outside of key flagship launches, holidays, and special online sale days. This is because prepaid remains a considerable amount of the US market. Prepaid subscribers are often credit challenged and limited in buying online. In addition, the refurbished market is growing in the US, and this incentivizes many customers to trade in a used device in-store when purchasing a new smartphone. Devices brought into stores are seen as more likely to be properly wiped of all data and disposed of properly by customers.”

This is an excerpt from our smartphone channel share tracker service across different geographies providing highly detailed insights and analysis – answering the why, backed by a solid granular sales database mapped across different channels – offline and online.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in detailed industry analysis of the TMT sectors. It services major technology firms and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analysis of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are experts in the industry with an average tenure of over 16 years in high tech industries.

Analyst Contacts:

Jeff Fieldhack
+1 858 603 2703
jeff@counterpointresearch.com

Maurice Klaehne
+1 617 336 8383
maurice@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
analyst(at)counterpointresearch.com

LATAM Smartphone Market Reached Highest Ever ASP in 2Q18

Growth during the quarter was led by OEMs’ aggressive sell-in.

New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires –August 21^st, 2018

According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, in Q2 2018 the LATAM smartphone shipments grew 2% YoY in volume and 8% in value. Chile and Mexico were the markets that led the growth, driven in part by Huawei and Motorola.

Commenting on the findings Senior Analyst, Tina Lu, said, “LATAM’s smartphone sell-in grew a marginal 2%, despite the economic volatility created by political turbulence. Motorola and Huawei led the volume growth with high double-digit growth, benefiting from the aggressive launch of new products in the mid-range (USD $100-$250) segment.”

Adding further, Tina said, “Consumers in Latin America are slowing down in their replacement rate but investing more money per purchase. Despite the multiple devaluations that most LATAM currencies have experienced during Q2 2018, the smartphone average selling price (ASP) reached USD187, around an 8% YoY increase. This was the region’s highest ASP ever. LATAM device prices are highly sensitive to currency fluctuations, as most of the countries in the region import devices, and those that require local manufacturing, still depend highly on sourcing parts internationally. Price band growth has been polarizing at both ends of the price spectrum.”

Exhibit 1: LATAM Smartphone Shipment Share by Brands

Source: Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Monitor Q2 2018

Commenting on the region’s brand evolution, Research Analyst, Parv Sharma, said, “Consumers in the LATAM region need to trust the brand before adopting it. So, this leads to quite a concentrated market with the top five brands, representing almost three-quarters of all the smartphones shipped. These brands have all invested a great deal of resources both in terms of money and management time, within the region, to earn local consumer trust. Huawei enjoyed a 43% YoY growth, the biggest surge among the top five brands. Its success is a result of the company consistently building brand awareness in the region. It has also increased its presence in America Movil. But the channel is quite stacked with Huawei inventory. Motorola also had double digit volume increase, but its volume growth was leveraged by the C series which took a toll on its ASP.”

Exhibit 2: LATAM ASP evolution: Q2 2017 vs Q2 2018

Source: Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Monitor Q2 2018

Market Summary:

Samsung captured more than 36% of the LATAM market. It was, once again, the absolute leader in the market, but it lost share YoY.
Despite the decline in share, Samsung had a 25% increase in ASP, thanks to increasing midrange sales.
Motorola reached 12.4% market share. The refreshed models in the E and G series have increased Motorola’s overall sell-in volumes. However, its Moto C is still the best-selling model and this success affected its ASP, driving it to decline 33% YoY.
Huawei reached 11.8% market share. It was third in the market, but just 0.8pp behind Motorola.
Huawei’s ASP increased 32% YoY. It is the brand with the highest growth amongst the top selling brands.
LG had the biggest YoY drop; a decline of more than 26%. It is the only brand in the top five chart that had flat YoY movement on ASP.
Apple remained almost flat with 4% market share, though it had more than 10% growth in ASP.
Apple’s ASP growth was driven by the launch of iPhone X which was offset by strong sales of iPhone 6 in the region.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q2 2018 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at press@counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press enquiries.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu
+54 91160411221
tina@counterpointresearch.com

Parv Sharma
+91 974-259-6030
parv@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson
+44 791-723-1934
peter@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Market Monitor Q1 2015: LATAM Smartphones Grow 25% Annually

According to the latest Market Monitor Report from Counterpoint Research, the Latin American (LATAM) mobile device market had a very healthy 25% YoY and 4% sequential growth.

The sequential growth is particularly impressive since Q1 is traditionally the weakest quarter of the year across the region. This growth was driven by the top international vendors offering a wider portfolio of lower cost smartphones.

Market Summary:

• 77% of total mobile devices shipped in LATAM were smartphones.

• Smartphone grew 25% YoY, and 4% sequentially despite the seasonality. There has been a significant surge in smartphone demand in LATAM.

• LATAM is third, behind North America and Europe in the global ranking of smartphone shipment penetration.

• Except for Peru, majority of the key LATAM markets are seeing a significantly higher smartphone demand, with shipment penetration of total handsets between 77% and 99%.

• Overall feature phone demand has been declining, and so has been the overall scale and profitability of manufacturing and selling them. As a result, in countries like Argentina, due to government protectionist measures and import restrictions, vendors are manufacturing and selling only the more profitable smartphones. This has led to smartphone shipment penetration of sales to reach 99%; the highest in the region.

• Almost 23% of the smartphones shipped in LATAM during Q1 2015 were LTE capable, with 173% annual growth.

Exhibit 1: LATAM Smartphone Market

• Samsung, LG and Apple are the top 3 smartphone vendors in the region.• Samsung continues to be the biggest smartphone supplier in LATAM, leading the region for 15 consecutive quarters.

• Samsung continues to be the biggest smartphone supplier in LATAM, leading the region for 15 consecutive quarters.

• However, Samsung share slipped by 900 basis points to 29.5% YoY, but recovering from its lowest market share of 22% during Q4 2014. This was possible as Samsung slashed prices across quite a few models and the shipment mix shifted toward lower ASP. As a result, Samsung’s smartphone ASP decline by 31% YoY.

• LG was the second largest smartphone vendor in LATAM, with stronger performance in Brazil and Mexico. However, LG market share slipped to 11% and so did its ASP which declined by 42% compared to Q1 2014.

• Apple reached 3rd place, for the first time, in the LATAM smartphone market. It had at least one or two models in the top ten bestselling models across all the key markets. Apple achieved 135% YoY growth in volume and 165% growth in value in Q1 2015.

• Among the regional brands such as Lanix (Mexico), Multilaser (Brazil), are one of the top five handset suppliers in their respective countries. However, these regional brands have not been able to translate their performance in the fast growing smartphone segment. Other brands to watch out for in the coming quarters are Blu, Bmobile, Avvio and Azumi which are growing fast in some key LATAM markets such as Peru or Colombia.

• By contrast local brands in Asian markets have been competing effectively, capturing share from international brands in their respective domestic markets. For example, India, Bangladesh and other Asian markets.

The comprehensive and in-depth 1Q 2015 LATAM Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to reach out to us at analyst@counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press enquiries.

Methodology

The Market Monitor report from Counterpoint Research is derived from sell-in (shipments) estimates based on vendor’s IR results, vendor polling triangulated with sell-through (sales), supply chain checks and secondary research.

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Source: Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Monitor Q2 2018

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-11453 size-full" src="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/LATAM-Asp-evolution.png" alt="LATAM Smartphone ASP Growth by Key Brands" width="1291" height="532" data-eio="l" />

Source: Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Monitor Q2 2018

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