SMARTPHONE shipments in the Philippines declined by eight percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 6.8 percent annually, bringing in 3.9 million units in the third quarter this year, according to International Data Corp.’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

“The Philippine smartphone market quickly shrank in the third quarter as inflation accelerated, further aggravated by recent typhoons, hurting both consumers and vendors. Vendors took a more conservative approach by clearing inventories, maintaining prices of existing models, and sustaining momentum by bringing in more affordable smartphones,” said Angela Medez, senior market analyst at IDC Philippines, in a statement.

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The last quarter of the year is the peak sales period for smartphones, buoyed by holiday buying. But as inflation is expected to linger and peak towards the end of year, we anticipate an annual shipment decline towards the end of 2022 as vendors will lower targets for the upcoming holiday season by controlling inventories and increasing prices for newer models to counter the depreciating currency.

Angela Medez, senior market analyst at IDC Philippines

Outlook

Mendez said IDC projects the annual shipment to decline towards the end of the year as vendors will lower targets for the upcoming holiday season.

“The last quarter of the year is the peak sales period for smartphones, buoyed by holiday buying. But as inflation is expected to linger and peak towards the end of year, we anticipate an annual shipment decline towards the end of 2022 as vendors will lower targets for the upcoming holiday season by controlling inventories and increasing prices for newer models to counter the depreciating currency,” added Medez.