People shop at a Mobile World store in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Despite the slight improvement in volume to 13.4 million units, thisfigure is still comparable to the 2015 market when it was still in a growingphase.
In the last quarter of 2022, the market took a sharp downturn, with a 50.3%drop year over year to 2.6 million units, the lowest figure recorded since thethird quarter of 2021, when the industry grappled with supply chain disruptionsdue to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consumer demand weakened considerably, exacerbated by high inflation andeconomic uncertainties. The underwhelming figures come as a surprise as thefourth quarter of the year is typically a robust period for the market.
"The rising cost of living and growing macro-economic concerns resulted insignificantly low consumer demand, dampening any rebound in 2022 when Vietnamre-opened," said Thanh Vo, Research Analyst for Client Devices at IDCVietnam. "This has led to a cautious start in 2023 as vendors rethinktheir portfolio of devices amidst profitability concerns."
Apple was a bright spot in 2022, being the only top smartphone vendor toweather the decline with a positive growth due to the high demand for theiPhone 14 series despite the production issues in China affecting the iPhone 14Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max supplies.
Samsung declined 4.9% quarter over quarter, but it made a remarkable effort inthe market downturn. Its Galaxy A-series phones contributed the largest toSamsung's shipments, with the Galaxy A04, Galaxy A13, and Galaxy A23 being themost popular. Samsung's share increased to 40.4% in 4Q22 from 34% in the thirdquarter of 2022.
OPPO kept its second position with a 21.3% share by units in the last quarterof 2022, despite a slight 0.3 percentage point drop quarter over quarter. Itsshipments declined for the second straight quarter with a 21% and a 38.9%year-over-year drop. OPPO's affordable smartphone range, such as the A17k, A57,A77s, and A17, were the main workhorses across its portfolio.
Apple was a bright spot as its shipments increased 42.7% quarter over quarterin the fourth quarter of 2022. The new iPhone 14 series drove the growth ofApple in Vietnam despite production issues. Apple's overall shipments grew 23.6%year-on-year for 2022, broadly outperforming the market downturn.
Vivo faced a steeper shipment drop of 80.7% year-on-year and 49.5% quarter overquarter in the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting in a more cautious approachand supporting sales by offering discounts and/or other activities. Vivofinished in the last quarter of 2022 with a 6.3% share, a decline from a 9.9%share in the previous quarter.
Xiaomi's shipments dropped down to 138,000 units in the fourth quarter of 2022,a decline of 74.8% year-on-year and 71.0% quarter over quarter as its sharedeclined to 5.4% from 14.9% in the previous quarter. Its Redmi A1, Redmi 10C,Redmi Note 11/Note 11 Pro, and Redmi 9C represented the largest contribution ofall Xiaomi smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022./.
VNA
