LATAM smartphones Archives

LATAM Smartphone Shipments Fall 9.9% YoY in Q1 2023, But Most Leading Brands’ Volume, Share Increase

Samsung remained the region’s absolute leader with a 41.7% market share. It was also the leader in all the markets in the region.
OPPO’s volume grew 88% YoY, the highest growth among leading brands in the region.
Brazil, Mexico, and Chile suffered the biggest drop YoY.

Buenos Aires, San Diego, Denver, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing – May 11, 2023

LATAM smartphone shipments declined 9.9% YoY in Q1 2023 on weak consumer demand, according to Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. After a bleak Q4 of 2022, things did not turn around during the first quarter of 2023. Traditionally, Q1 is one of the slowest quarter of the year as the southern hemisphere’s summer recess falls in this quarter. The shipments usually start picking up in March in preparation for the Mother’s Day sales season in May. However, this year’s weak demand affected these shipments.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “High inflation, low economic growth, and some social unrest that continued from 2022 impacted consumer confidence in the region. 5G smartphones failed to attract consumers in big numbers to accelerate the rate of replacement. But still, the region’s 5G smartphone portfolio increased by more than 21% even as the share of 5G smartphones improved only a few points since December. It is still not clear whether the LATAM consumer wants a 5G smartphone or buys it as it is the best option available.”

Top Smartphone OEMs’ Market Share in Latin America, Q1 2023 vs Q1 2022

Source: Market Monitor

Commenting on the performance of OEMs in the region, Research Analyst Andres Silva said, “While the smartphone market continued to decline, most leading brands managed to increase their share and even volume. With leading brands having better product availability and deeper pockets to run promotions, the smaller brands were pushed to an all-time low. However, the overall inventory situation continued to improve.”

Market Summary

Samsung’s volume and share in the region dropped YoY, impacted by the general market decline. However, the brand’s share improved QoQ. During Q1 2022, Samsung started an aggressive volume shipments that continued till Q2 and resulted in high inventories that lasted until the end of 2022, impacting the brand’s shipments during H2 2022. This year, Samsung was more cautious and did not build that massive amount of inventory.
The launch of refreshed A series allowed Samsung to remain as the region’s absolute leader with a 41.7% share, more than double the closest competitor’s.
The launch of the S23 series allowed Samsung to remain the value leader in the region. Samsung conducted an aggressive promotional campaign for the launch of the S23 series, and it was rewarded with better performance than last year’s S22 series. Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina were the markets driving this growth.
Xiaomi also gained volume and share. Its growth was driven by the launch of the A2 model in February and the Note 12 model in April (shipments of the model started in March). The brand also managed to partially resolve the issues being faced by it in Mexico.
Xiaomi is trying to push its premium models, but the response from end users has been lukewarm so far.
Apple’s volume and share also increased YoY. The iPhone 11, a 4G model, drove its growth in the region.
Apple has been aggressively driving sales by offering a memory upgrade in the iPhone 14 and some subsidies for many of its products.
OPPO continued to grow, with its share more than doubling YoY. Its volume grew 88% YoY, the highest growth among leading brands in the region. Entering the region three years ago, OPPO has already consolidated its position among the top three in Mexico. It is now aiming to grow its share in Colombia and Peru.
OPPO is also set to increase its share in the premium segment by launching the Find N2 Flip in the region. It is the third OEM to launch a flip model in the region.
ZTE’s volume continued its decline from 2022. It is one of the brands affected by the regional decline.
The smaller and regional brands’ volumes continued to decrease. They have been squeezed by the big brands’ deep pockets and new entrants.

Feedback or a question for the analyst that wrote this note?

Tina Lu

Senior Analyst

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) 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

Andres Silva

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

LATAM Smartphone Shipments Down 13% YoY; Samsung, Xiaomi Biggest Share Gainers

LATAM smartphone shipments decreased 13% YoY and 17.3% QoQ in Q3 2022.
All the top brands’ volumes declined QoQ, except for OPPO.
Samsung led the market with a 40% share, followed by Motorola with a 22% share.
The >$700 price band saw the highest growth.

Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – December 12, 2022

The Latin American and Caribbean smartphone shipments fell 13% YoY and 17.3% QoQ in Q3 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. All the top brands’ volumes declined QoQ, except for OPPO.

Commenting on the market, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Q3 2022 shipments were impacted by high inventories carried over from Q2 2022. During the previous quarter, several OEMs pushed high shipment volumes, but consumer demand was slowing down. Therefore, it resulted in excess inventories in most sales channels, and Q3 2022 mainly corrected it. But still, the issue has not been completely fixed and the sales channels will feel the pain of higher-than-acceptable inventories in Q4 2022 too.”

Lu added, “Consumer demand remains weak in LATAM. The regional economic crisis, triggered by high inflation, currency depreciation and a change in political power, resulted in a sharp decrease in consumer demand. OEMs, operators and retailers have all launched aggressive promotional bundles or double-digit discounts to increase sales.”

Research Analyst Andres Silva noted, “Samsung and Xiaomi were the biggest share gainers YoY during the quarter. Samsung remained the absolute leader in the region and all the individual countries. Xiaomi continued to grow by entering new countries and expanding both the operator and its own retail channels. This drove Xiaomi’s share and shipment volume growth in the region.”

Commenting on the price band performance, Silva said, “Despite the economic crisis, the >$700 price band saw the highest growth. Apple and Samsung’s flagships drove the growth of this segment. On the other hand, the <$150 price segment saw the biggest drop YoY, reflecting the lack of adequate entry-level smartphone supplies from the biggest brands, especially Motorola.”

Top Smartphone OEMs’ Market Share in Latin America, Q3 2021 vs Q3 2022

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q3 2022

Q3 2022 Market Summary

Amid weakened consumer sentiment and massive shipments in Q2 2022, Samsung’s high inventory impacted its shipments in Q3 2022. On the other hand, demand for low-end and low-to-mid-end devices remained robust, showing a flat YoY volume growth.
Motorola’s shipments fell 6% QoQ as its entry-level models were in short supply. Motorola also dropped YoY as it had an exceptional quarter in Q3 2021. The brand’s performance was particularly hit in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The recently launched Edge 30 flagship series also failed to click with consumers.
Xiaomi’s shipments rose 15% YoY driven by the Redmi Note 11, which has proven to be the rising star. However, high inventory in operator channels and low demand in certain countries like Peru resulted in a QoQ shipment drop.
Apple saw only a slight volume decrease YoY despite the launch of the new iPhone. But the iPhone 14 was launched late in the region even as Colombia imposed restrictions on 5G iPhone imports. The good demand for the iPhone 11 helped soften the fall. Apple is expected to improve its performance over the next quarter.
OPPO’s share rose one percentage point QoQ driven by the launch of the new Reno 7 in the region. Mexico and Colombia helped the brand navigate overall market softness.
The region’s smartphone market is becoming more concentrated. The top three brands represented 69% of the shipments in Q3 2021 and 75% in Q3 2022. While the new Chinese entrants are facing a tough time in such a market, it is the regional and smaller brands that are suffering the most.
The “others” category decreased in volume and share YoY. Big brands, with their deeper pockets for promotions and better negotiation power, are making it tough for smaller brands.

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

tina@counterpointresearch.com

Andres Silva

andres.silva@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson

Peter@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

LATAM Smartphone Shipments up 9% YoY; Samsung Widens Lead to All-time High

LATAM smartphone shipments increased 9% YoY and 8% QoQ in Q2 2022.
Samsung led the market with 43.5% share, followed by Motorola with 19.6% share.

Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – August 16, 2022

Latin America’s (or LATAM’s) smartphone shipments increased 9% YoY and 8% QoQ in Q2 2022, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. The growth came despite the regional economic crises and weak global smartphone shipments. Argentina led the region with 32% YoY growth, followed by Mexico and Colombia. Samsung’s shipments and market share reached all-time highs during the quarter.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple’s shipments grew YoY in the LATAM market. These brands managed to offset the loss registered by other brands in LATAM’s overall shipment numbers. But the shipments didn’t match consumer demand, resulting in a record-high inventory, especially for Samsung and to a lesser degree for Xiaomi.”

Lu added, “Inventory was especially high in the higher price bands. Shipments in the $250 and above price band more than doubled YoY. The economic crisis did not allow the consumer demand to be as high as the OEMs’ expectations. Furthermore, in terms of product rotation, many retailers and operators were offering longer payment terms of up to 24 installments. 5G is still not widely demanded in the region. Most 5G devices are from the high-end segment.”

Research Analyst Andres Silva said, “Q2 is usually the second biggest quarter of the year in terms of seasonality as it includes Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in most markets. Both these festivals see key promotional sales. This year too, OEMs had promotions to offer, like Xiaomi had the ‘Xiaomi Day’, where most models had double-digit discounts. Colombia also had the “Dia sin IVA”, a VAT (value-added tax)-free day. Although it was only for one day, it accelerated the market to some extent”.

Top Smartphone OEMs’ Market Share in Latin America, Q2 2021 vs Q2 2022

Source: Counterpoint Research Q2 2022 Market Monitor

Q2 2022 Market Summary

Samsung was one of the few OEMs that were able to resolve or significantly improve the supply chain issue. This drove a massive surge in volume in both YoY and QoQ terms.
Samsung’s shipments and share in Q2 2022 were at all-time highs. The brand saw strong shipments but softer sell-through, resulting in high inventory, especially in the mid-high- and high-price segments.
Supply shortages impacted Motorola’s shipments for most of Q1 2022. Starting Q2, it increased shipments and launched low-price models in the region, which led to higher sell-through despite the slower consumer demand.
Xiaomi continued to grow YoY and QoQ. Very aggressive pricing for the Note series, specifically the Redmi Note 11 model, led to this growth.
Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi grabbed 91% of its volume in the region. Redmi has been very aggressive in dropping the price of its Note series to compensate for the absence of the A series.
OPPO saw a shipment volume decline, but the brand improved its position in the region. Most of its volume is still concentrated in Mexico.
OPPO is pushing to increase its participation in the affordable premium segment ($300-$500). It has launched the Reno 7 model in the region but is facing fierce competition from established OEMs. The brand is intensifying marketing, particularly at the sales point.
Apple grew YoY driven by the iPhone 11 model and Apple Store and premium resellers partnering with banks to offer installment payments.
Apple’s volume and share in the region continued to grow. Its older 4G model iPhone 11 drove the growth. Brazil, Chile and Mexico led in volume terms.
The “Others” category continued to decline YoY, affected by larger OEMs’ aggressive promotions and bundling.

Background

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

tina@counterpointresearch.com

Andres Silva

andres.silva@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson

Peter@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

LATAM Smartphone Shipments Grow 13.4% YoY in 2021 Despite Supply Constraints

LATAM smartphone shipments grew 13.4% YoY in 2021 and .03% YoY and 9% QoQ in Q4 2021.
Samsung led the market with 38% share, followed by Motorola with 22.5% share.

Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – February 24, 2022

LATAM smartphone shipments grew a healthy 13.4% YoY in 2021 despite the ongoing component shortages. However, the number was still 9% lower than that for 2019, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest Market Monitor tracker. Most of the 2021 growth was in the first half of the year, as COVID-19 lockdowns had hit growth in the same period of 2020.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Most LATAM countries saw YoY growth driven by Chinese brands entering the region and increasing competition. But Brazil’s TAM decreased YoY. With local manufacturing/assembly representing more than 80% of its smartphone volume, Brazil felt the full impact of component shortages.”

Commenting on brand trends, Lu said, “All brands grew in volume during 2021, but some grew more than others. Samsung, the absolute leader in the region, increased only 6% in volume, but its ASP grew more than 19% YoY. The OEM’s shipments increased less than the overall market as it decided to produce higher-ASP devices due to chipset shortages.”

“Furthermore, LG exited the market during the second half of the year, leaving a void in the entry-level segment. Motorola and ZTE spotted the opportunity and moved in. Motorola’s volume increased 39% YoY and ZTE’s 74% YoY. But the brand that grew the most was Xiaomi, which aggressively entered the operator channel. Its volume almost doubled YoY. Xiaomi has been pushing its brand image in LATAM since 2018.”

LATAM Smartphone Shipment Market Share, 2021 vs 2020

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q4 2021 Notes: Xiaomi includes POCO

Commenting on the Q4 2021 market dynamics, Research Analyst Andres Silva said: “Despite the annual growth, Q4 2021 shipments increased only .03% YoY but 9% QoQ due to a combination of seasonality and improved supplies from China and Vietnam and local manufacturing/assembly. The fourth quarter is usually the biggest quarter for the LATAM smartphone market. But in 2021 many OEMs could not anticipate production constraints that impacted most of the second part of the year.”

LATAM Smartphone Shipment Market Share, Q4 2021 vs Q4 2020

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q4 2021 Notes: Xiaomi includes POCO

Q4 2021 Market Summary

Samsung led the region in Q4 2021 with its volume rising 12% QoQ but falling 1% YoY. The brand led in most of the countries in the region, except Argentina and Mexico. Samsung was impacted by supply shortages and not having enough entry-level products.

Motorola was the second biggest brand in the region. It led in Argentina and Mexico. Motorola managed to combine its brand recognition built over 30 years in LATAM and its entry-level models to grow in volume.

Xiaomi continued to grow in the region. It is now the solid number three. In Q4 2021, it saw 71% YoY growth. Its QoQ growth was drastically lower, hampered by supply shortages and not having local production in Argentina and Brazil. Xiaomi has recently announced it will start assembling smartphones in Argentina this year. Its volumes should grow further after local production starts.

Apple suffered huge constraints right after the launch of the iPhone 13. But the shortage appeared to ease by the end of the year with significantly increased shipments. Apple is the absolute leader in the region in the premium segment (>$500).

ZTE grew its volume 44% YoY by expanding sales beyond Mexico. It has a long-term relationship with carriers and offers a portfolio of <$100 smartphones.

Other Chinese brands like OPPO, vivo, realme and TECNO are new entrants to LATAM. They spent most of 2021 building their branding in the region. OPPO was the most successful of all these brands, as it had already built some branding in Mexico several years ago. It is among the top five in Mexico, but Its expansion into other markets has not yet shown results.

“Others” decreased YoY. “Local kings” continue to drop with international and Chinese brands filling the gap.

Background

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

+54 91160411221
tina@counterpointresearch.com

Andres Silva

+57 3004929435

andres.silva@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson

+44 7917231934
Peter@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

10 Predictions for LATAM Smartphone, Devices Ecosystem in 2021

The LATAM smartphone and devices ecosystem has been one of the least impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the trends mentioned below started in 2020 and will further strengthen in 2021. The pandemic has shown that technology and devices are essential allies through a calamity and will thus contribute to steering the LATAM economy back to growth.

LATAM will have at least 22 operators launching 5G networks. But all of them will have limited coverage, with most of them being non-standalone (NSA) networks. These 22 will be in addition to the nine operators which launched 5G services during 2020.
At least six LATAM countries will auction 5G compatible spectrum. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru have announced plans to auction spectrum that will enable operators to deploy stand-alone (SA) networks and offer commercial 5G plans.
5G smartphones will start to take off in 2021, but not quite. 5G phones will unlikely bag more than 5% share in the region. Apple and Samsung will drive the growth of this segment in LATAM during 2021. Although 5G technology will reach the $150-$200 price band smartphones, buyers under this band will instead focus on having a better camera, a bigger screen, or more memory. 5G will not drive smartphone replacement in the region.

Exhibit 1: LATAM Technology Share, 2018-2021

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor and Market Outlook, Q3 2020

The market will see double digit growth in 2021. Although the overall economy will continue to struggle, smartphone sales in 2021 are expected to grow more than 19% YoY. Even if there is a second or third wave of COVID-19, the demand will not decline. It will decline only when there is some disruption in the supply chain.
Chinese brands’ participation will grow, but slowly. Huawei’s share will continue to decline. Despite the regime change in the US, the trade ban on the company is unlikely to be lifted soon. Many Chinese brands are entering the region, seeking to grab the share shed by Huawei.
Smartphone ASP might return to growth.In 2020, the ASP decreased slightly but consistently each quarter. The entry of newcomers with aggressive plans may trigger a price war. This will benefit consumers and convince them to spend slightly more while acquiring a new smartphone.
Several countries will increase taxes on smartphones. As COVID-19 left many economies shuttered and some governments broke, smartphones will come under the tax scanner in many countries. Although the OEMs might absorb a part of the increased cost, it will ultimately impact the overall smartphone market ASP.
Online channels will see an increase in smartphone sales. Online sales are here to stay. In 2020, online sales in LATAM increased by at least 60% YoY. This growth will continue in 2021 but at a slower pace, trapped by the reality that only 55% of the region’s adult population has access to the banking system (according to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion), compared to 95% in Europe.
Contactless payment technology to see increasing adoption. COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of this technology in LATAM. All leading banks in LATAM are now launching an NFC (near-field communication) payment platform. Companies like Samsung, Mercado Libre and Facebook are also looking to tap into this trend. On the other end, an increasing number of stores are acquiring contactless payment technology. As the pandemic is still on, this trend will grow.
IoT devices will surge in the region. With the pandemic, many businesses have realized that it is essential to accelerate digital transformation to stay efficient. On the other hand, operators are pushing IoT solutions while looking for a new stream of revenue. At the consumer level, as many people continue to remain stranded at home, smart home and hearable devices will receive an extra boost. In particular, devices related to security, home entertainment and household tasks will be in demand.

LATAM Smartphone Market Falls YoY For The Fourth Consecutive Quarter in Q2 2019

Samsung is the top smartphone brand in the LATAM market with 42.3% share.

Motorola ships more than Huawei to become the second-largest smartphone brand once again.

Samsung, Motorola, and Huawei together have 71% market share.

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

Smartphone shipments in Latin America fell 3.3% year-on-year (YoY) during Q2 2019, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. This is the fourth consecutive quarter that smartphone shipments have fallen on a YoY basis. Sequentially, shipments increased marginally by around 1%.

As the market shrinks, local brands are getting squeezed and losing out to international and Chinese players. The market is more concentrated than ever, and this trend is increasing. Within just a year, the market share of the top three brands in LATAM has grown 10 percentage points. Samsung, Motorola, and Huawei, the top three brands, now account for 71% of the total market.

Commenting on the Huawei’s performance in LATAM, Counterpoint’s Senior Analyst, Tina Lu, highlighted, “Huawei started the quarter shipping its highest ever number of smartphones. Its volume outpaced that of Motorola as it became the second-largest brand in LATAM. However, the US’ trade ban on Huawei, announced in May, impacted demand. It affected its shipments, especially from June onwards. Looking forward, Huawei’s position in LATAM could remain limited to a single-digit share if the trade ban continues. Even if the trade ban is lifted during the next couple of months, it will take some time to pick-up the growth pace it enjoyed in LATAM during most of H1 2019, unless it gets serious about setting up an assembling/manufacturing facility in Brazil.”

Parv Sharma, Research Analyst, added, “Samsung and Motorola have both been the biggest winners of Huawei’s drop. Samsung regained leadership in each of the big markets of the region after being challenged in some markets by Huawei. Samsung’s performance was due to price cuts for the J series and the launch of the new A series. It is also spending massively on advertising across all channels. This combination has led to its highest ever market share. Meanwhile, Motorola once again became the second-largest player in the region. It had double-digit YoY growth, as it managed to stay a strong number two in both Brazil and Argentina.”

Exhibit 1: LATAM Smartphone Market Share

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q2 2019

Commenting on the price-band trends in LATAM, Tina Lu, highlighted, “LATAM is still a low-end smartphone market, almost 57% of the smartphones sold cost less than US$199, although this share is declining. People are spending slightly more on a smartphone, and as a result, the beneficiary is the US$200-US$299 price-band. Huawei and Motorola have been the main drivers of this increase. Motorola discontinued its C series at the end of last year and left only the E series in the entry-level segment and the G series as its mid-range device. This has also led to an average selling price (ASP) increase.”

While the <US$99 price-band remains the largest in LATAM with a 35% market share, volumes in this price-band declined 11% YoY in Q2 2019. The mid-range price-band (US$100 – US$199) has grown 13% compared to the previous year, fuelled by Motorola, Huawei, and to a lesser extent, Nokia HMD. The mid-high price band (US$200 – US$299) was the fastest-growing segment mainly due to the volumes of the Huawei P Lite and Samsung A7, after price drops. Volumes in the price-bands above US$300 decreased. Samsung is the leading brand across all price-bands except the US$300 -US$399 price-band, where it trails Huawei.

Exhibit 2: LATAM Smartphone Price-Band Market Share

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q2 2019

Market Summary:

Samsung’s volumes increased at a double-digit rate on a YoY basis. More than four out of 10 smartphones shipped in the region during Q2 2019 were from Samsung.
Motorola’s YoY growth was due to its success on the open channel as well as Argentina and Brazil. It has a good understanding of the open channel and benefited from the fact that the open channel that has grown fastest in LATAM over the last three years.
LG continues to decline, both YoY and quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Brazil is the only market where it is still a strong number three. In some LATAM markets, such as Mexico and Colombia, it is not even in the top five best-selling brands.
Apple’s volumes decreased in most LATAM markets. But the worst-performing markets were Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. The XR and XS models are too expensive for LATAM while the 7 and 8 are not able to lure users.
Alcatel had a slight increase over the previous quarter and YoY. The brand had a major restructuring in the second half of last year. Its sales are improving slightly in most LATAM markets, especially in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q2 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.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Parv Sharma

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

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

Economic Instability Is Taking a Toll on the LATAM Smartphone Market

Chinese OEMs continues to gain traction in the region

New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires –

November 23^st, 2018

According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, the Latin American (LATAM) Smartphone market has declined by more than 7% YoY due to economic uncertainty in four out of the six major countries in LATAM. Colombia, Brazil and Mexico’s markets were affected by presidential elections. These elections brought uncertainty to the economy and hence altered consumer purchasing behavior.

Commenting on the Latin American market development, Counterpoint’s Senior Analyst, Tina Lu, highlighted, “The replacement rate of local consumers is noticeably slowing. The cost of purchasing a new smartphone is a major investment for many consumers and, in most cases, they pay for their devices in 18 or 24 monthly installments. There is, therefore, a strong desire to make the smartphone last longer than the installment payment period. This change in user behavior has also brought a new level of importance to after-sales services. This has knock-on benefits in driving more business to companies providing after-sales service and refurbished smartphones”.

Commenting on vendor performances, Parv Sharma, Research Associate, noted: “Following the overall market decline, the sale of all top-selling brands in volume terms apart from Huawei, have also decreased. Huawei has once again recorded strong growth of 37% YoY, and 10% sequentially. Huawei has been driving volume, in its biggest market, Mexico, with a two for one mix between high and low-price band devices. Huawei is gaining brand preference as its reputation for offering excellent quality products widens.”

Exhibit 1: Percentage LATAM Shipment Volume Share – 2018 Q3

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q3 2018

Samsung remains the absolute leader in the LATAM market. However, it lost around 1% share.

Samsung’s unit volume decline came mostly from Argentina, Chile and Brazil. Argentina’s market contracted by more than 40% YoY.

Motorola managed to retain its share, despite its decision to gradually decrease the volume of its bestselling C-series models and in the face of stiff competition from other Chinese brands.

Motorola grew in markets which were traditionally a challenge for it, such as Colombia, where it managed to achieve more than 50% YoY growth by increasing its share with local operators.

Huawei has double-digit growth in most of the region’s markets in which it operates. The one exception was Argentina where its volume reduced by more than a quarter YoY due to the company’s decision to outsource sales and distribution – a process that is not yet finalized.

LG’s business has been the most impacted. LG remains in the top three brands in Brazil, the largest market in LATAM, but it was not enough to offset a sharp drop in most other markets in the region.

Mexico was the only country, in LATAM, to be included in the first round of the latest iPhone launches. In all the other countries, Apple launched its latest iPhone models between October and November.

Exhibit 2: Latin America Brands Origin Variation 2017 Q3 vs 2018 Q3

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q3 2018

International brands still dominate the LATAM smartphone ecosystem, Samsung is the best-selling brand in this group.

Although some Chinese brands such Huawei and Xiaomi enjoyed strong performances, the Chinese brands’ group had only around 2% growth, offset by the decline of other Chinese brands such as Alcatel, Lenovo and ZTE.

Regional brands grew by 1% driven by the increasing numbers of local brands that managed to enter the distribution channel of most LATAM’s carriers.

Brazilian local brands such as Multilaser or Positivo also drove the growth of these regional brands.

Chinese brands are expected to grow in the LATAM region, but not massively until 2020 as two of the biggest LATAM markets, Brazil and Argentina will continue to effectively be closed to direct imports in 2019.

LATAM’s overall market will likely return to growth in 2019. Partly due to an easy comparison with a depressed 2018 and because many of the events that have caused the slowdown in 2018 will have passed.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q3 2018 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.

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

Huawei Surpasses Samsung as Number One Player in Peru

77% of smartphones shipped were LTE capable in 3Q 2017

Buenos Aires, San Diego, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing – January 8th, 2018

According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, Peru smartphone shipments grew 27% annually in Q3 2017, and 10% compared to the previous quarter.

Commenting on the 3^rd Quarter findings, Tina Lu, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research said, “Since the entrance of Entel, the 4^th operator, Peru has become one of the most competitive markets in LATAM. Operators still offer subsidies on devices to retain or to compete for new subscribers. As a consequence operators control more than 90% of handset distribution.”

Discussing the state of handset competition in the market, Tina Lu adds, “The, top six brands represent more than 70% of the smartphone market. The remaining 30% is shared by a long tail of more than 40 brands. Chinese smartphone brands had almost 40% share of the total smartphone market. The leading players are Huawei, Motorola and ZTE”.

Speaking about market performance, Parv Sharma, Research Associate at Counterpoint Research, commented, “Opportunities such as number portability and low mobile penetration in some rural areas, triggered carriers to adopt different strategies to increase market share. Amid this race, OEMs that can offer the best brand-price-feature combination, will likely advance. Huawei has been aggressive, surpassing Samsung to become the number one player in the smartphone market in 3Q 2017. Huawei had 18% market share followed by Samsung with 14% share. LG and Motorola grabbed third and fourth positions in the smartphone market. Motorola registered strong annual growth of 150%, with its C series smartphones performing well. Vietnamese carrier Bitel is a surprisingly strong player – its own branded smartphones captured fifth position, almost quadrupling its shipments annually in the quarter, albeit from a low base”.

Exhibit 1: Peru Smartphone Shipments Ranking and Market Share – Q3 2017

Source: Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Monitor Q3 2017

Commenting on the System on Chip (SOC) share situation Mr. Sharma noted, “MediaTek captured almost half of the smartphone market followed by Spreadtrum and Qualcomm with 15% and 13% market share. MediaTek is catering to the needs of low-mid range segment and is being embedded by LG, Huawei and Motorola in their key models. These three SOC players captured almost 80% of the total smartphone market. The rest of the market is shared by Huawei’s HiSilicon-branded processors, Apple and Samsung (Exynos)”.

Market Summary

Shipments in Peru during Q3 2017 grew a healthy 27% annually and 10% sequentially.
Smartphones represented 79% of handset shipments in the quarter.
LTE devices made up 77% of total shipments and grew 29% YoY and 4% QoQ.
Huawei became the number one player in the Peru smartphone market surpassing Samsung in 3Q 2017.
Samsung declined 34% annually and 52% sequentially falling to second position behind Huawei. Samsung is facing strong competition from Huawei, Moto and LG.
LG captured third position with 13% share. LG grew 12% annually, with its K series performing well and providing tough competition to Samsung’s J series.
Motorola more than doubled its shipments annually in Q3 2017 with its best-selling smartphone Moto C providing the driving force.
More than 70% of smartphones shipped had a screen size that was greater than 5.0 inches.

Exhibit 2: Peru Bestselling Smartphone Rankings – Q3 2017

Source: Counterpoint Research: Quarterly Market Pulse Q3 2017

Top 10 smartphones represent almost 40% of the total smartphone market
Eight of the 10 bestselling smartphones were in the <100 USD import price band.
Motorola Moto C was the top sell-in Smartphone during Q3 2017. More than half of the model’s volume was pushed by Entel.
Huawei Y6 and Y7 models have the highest ASP among the top selling models. Both have ASP higher than USD 100.
Samsung has only two older models J1 Mini Prime and J2 Prime in the top 10 bestsellers.

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Exhibit 1: Peru Smartphone Shipments Ranking and Market Share – Q3 2017

Exhibit 2: Peru Bestselling Smartphone Rankings – Q3 2017

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<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-12799 size-full" src="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Q318-chart.jpg" alt="LATAM Shipment Volume Share – 2018 Q3" width="832" height="331" data-eio="l" /> Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q3 2018

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q3 2018

Exhibit 1: Peru Smartphone Shipments Ranking and Market Share – Q3 2017

Exhibit 2: Peru Bestselling Smartphone Rankings – Q3 2017

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Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor Q3 2018