In mid-2021 people were stuck at home and their disposable income often went towards upgrading their phones. But then the market hit several difficulties in quick succession: first it was component shortages, then inventory build-up depressed shipments, then people started keeping their old phones for longer.
It has been 27 months since this all started, but Counterpoint Research is now reporting that sell-through rates are showing year-on-year growth once again. October sales were bigger than previous months going all the way back to January 2022.
It’s a modest increase, sell-through volume went up 5% compared to October of last year. But it is a strong sign of recovery, a recovery that was led by emerging markets like the Middle East and Africa, with China and India also showing growth.
Speaking of China, the analysts are crediting Huawei’s resurgence in its home market as one of the reasons for the recovery. As for India, the Diwali holiday sales gave sales a boost.
In contrast, developed market are sitting at a saturation point, so sales are slower to recover there.
Anyway, you can see the tall peak of the iPhone 14 series – well, the launch of the iPhone 15 series also had a major impact, which pushed the October numbers above the zero line.
Counterpoint predicts that the market will continue its gradual recovery for the rest of Q4 this year and from then to future quarters as well.
