According to a new report, the War in Ukraine caused a drop in smartphone shipments in Europe. The report says the decline is of 10% on an annual basis in the first quarter of the year. Let’s find out all the details together.
War in Ukraine: smartphone shipments to Europe on the decline
Canalys recently reported that the quarterly shipments of smartphones in Europe they fell to 41.7 million units. Canalys analyst Runar Bjørhovde said:
Most of the decline in Europe is due to hard hit Russia and Ukraine. Shipments to these countries decreased by 31% and 51% respectively compared to the first quarter of 2021.
Shipments to the rest of Europe fell by only 3.5% year-on-year, showing that demand remains intact. But the ongoing war has brought inflation to a record high and consumer confidence is waning. The real test for the smartphone market will be in the next two quarters, when the economic impact of the war begins to be felt.
However, Apple has increased the market share. The company placed second behind Samsung and ahead of Xiaomi. Strong demand for iPhone 13 saw the Cupertino company slightly increase shipments: da 8.8 million in the first quarter of 2021 a 8.9 million in the same quarter of this year.
Apple’s European market share has therefore increased from 19% al 21%especially at the expense of Xiaomi.
Looking ahead, there is a fear ofimpact of inflation on the demand for expensive products of consumer electronics. Sanctions on Russia are having an impact on everything, come on energy prices at the distribution of products. Ukraine is also a major exporter of foodstuffsso also the prices of the latter they are increasing due to the decrease in supply.
Inflation has soared, while the “big resignations” are creating further inflationary pressure as companies are forced to raise salaries to retain and hire staff. The term was coined by psychologist Anthony Klotz, who successfully predicted the impact of the pandemic on the workforce.
According to the psychologist, they are three main factors underpinning record job-abandonment rates.
- Release of a repressed demand for change, after an initial stagnation dictated by fear.
- People who are re-evaluating their priorities – work is considered less important here by many.
- A desire to maintain the flexibility of remote working, which many companies are now eliminating.
This, consequently, is leading some people to downsize your careerto take more free time or to accept one lowest salary for less stressful work, which will reduce discretionary spending power for smartphones and tablets.