ΠThe smartphone market is also shrinking on Greek soil, according to data on manufacturers' sales in the first half of 2018 with six manufacturers out of 15 and more operating in the Greek market managing to gain a share of more than 3% The trend, however , which follows the standards of the European market, threaten to reverse new emerging players, such as Nokia and Honor, which are rapidly gaining ground in device sales.
At a glance, the pieces of mobile phones sold in the first seven months of the year moved to last year's levels, but the same did not happen with the money allocated for the new devices by Greek manufacturers. This is because the new models of the key players in the market driven by the iPhone X seem to be constantly increasing their average price.
More specifically, in the first seven months of the year, from January to July 2018, about 1,16 million devices were sold out of the 1,12 million devices sold in the corresponding period of 2017. The total amount allocated by Greek consumers for the acquisition of smartphones increased by 40 million euros (300 million euros in 2018 compared to about 260 million euros in the corresponding period of 2017), thanks to sales of more expensive devices in the category of 600 euros.
Of these sales, 80% and more are gathered by only five manufacturers. The first place in the golden five is taken by Samsung with a market share that reaches 29%, a little smaller than last year, followed by Huawei with a market share of 23%, increased compared to last year but with a considerable distance from the first place . Of course, there are surprises in the next three places. In particular, in third place with rapid growth is now the Chinese Xiaomi, which has managed in a short time to gain a market share of 16% exiling the MLS which amassed a share of 8% reduced by one point compared to last year. In fifth place is Apple with a market share of 6,5% of devices sold, which, however, expects to recover in the last quarter of the year, with the release of 3 new Smartphones.
The other manufacturers now have a share of less than 2% in contrast to the past which was moving to 3% - 6% with the bright exception of Nokia (HMD Global) which is concentrating has successfully reached its short course of 3,5% and is rising. Until yesterday, the highly competitive market has therefore focused on six key players, leaving many out of the big fight. According to market sources, the arrival of new players such as Nokia and Honor, which appeared at the beginning of the summer, is expected to upset the balance in the future.
The ranking, however, changes significantly if we look at the value and not the pieces of devices sold. Samsung tops this ranking, with a share of up to 37% - this is the only audience with the previous ranking. In second place is Apple, which accounts for 20%, followed by Huawei with a share of 19,5%. In fourth place is Xiaomi with its share reaching 11% while with difficulty follows MLS whose share reaches 4%, slightly higher than that of the rising Nokia which is already moving at 2,5%.
Greeks prefer the cheapest smartphones
Of course, apart from the market protagonists, the data on the preferences of Greek consumers are also interesting. As it turns out, the cheapest smartphones have their price point, since devices with a price between 100 and 200 euros represent 45% of sales, while those with a price below 100 euros 10%. In contrast, the share of devices with a price from 300 to 600 euros reaches only 7% while 10% of the devices sold in the first seven months were more than 600 euros. A differentiating element is the increase in sales of devices with a price of 200 to 300 euros, which now represent 20%, a fact that proves that Greeks are increasingly turning to better devices.
And of course every manufacturer is strong in specific price categories. Indicatively to mention that Samsung dominates in the category 200-300 euros with an equally good market share of 100-200 euros. Xiaomi and Huawei also appear extremely strong in this category. As for the "high" category of devices priced at over 600 euros, Apple has almost half the market share - just under 50% while Samsung is close to 40%. Finally, Huawei after the success of the P20 Pro, seems to gather 10% of this category.
In terms of sales channels of these devices, online stores are losing ground with their share reaching 15% from 20% in the past, while 42% of sales are made through the chains of providers (German, Vodafone, Wind ), while sales from the electronics chains (Kotsovolos, Plaisio, Public, MediaMarkt etc.) are moving in corresponding numbers.
