Mobile phone makers as a group saw revenue growth far outpace the growth of units shipped and units sold during the second quarter. Global handset wholesale revenue grew 24% in the second quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. The firm attributes much of the growth to Samsung, which it says is performing well across all segments. LG also made a significant contribution to overall revenue growth.
Smartphones now outsell feature phones, and as mobile users make the switch, average wholesale prices are rising. While revenue was up 24%, mobile phone shipments rose just 6% in the second quarter (IDC) and the number of handsets sold to end users rose just 3.6% (Gartner).
The relatively flat growth in unit sales suggests that most handset sales now are upgrades rather than first time purchases. “Consumers worldwide, particularly in China, are replacing $50 feature phones with $75 smartphones, and $200 feature phones with $500 smartphones,” according to Strategy Analytics. Meanwhile sales of feature phones to end users totaled 210 million units and declined 21% year-over-year, according to Gartner.
A comparison of units shipped to units sold shows suggests that most carriers are not accumulating inventory. Vendors shipped a total of 432.1 million mobile phones during the second quarter, according to IDC, while retailers sold a total of 435 million units, per Gartner.
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