Smartphone makers might be getting scares as the market starts saturating but at least for now things are looking quite OK. According to a report by marketing firm GfK, the industry will grow by 6.6 percent this year, backed largely by a thriving Chinese market.
The world’s largest market, China, grew by 15 percent this year, the highest growth rate in any region, accounting for a third of all phones sold. However, this streak may be about to end, with operator subsidies set to end next year, which may result in a 3-percent decline in sales.
Other markets such as Middle East & Africa, Central and Eastern Europe (Russia and Ukraine) and Emerging Asia (India, Indonesia and Philippines) managed decent growth levels, too. In the Western world, the phone sales remained largely the same, though, as they did in Developed Asia (Hong Kong and Japan) while Latin America shrunk by 4 percent.
Overall, the total sales value generated by the market will amount to a mammoth $421.8 billion, up from $398.1 billion last year (6 percent). Again, it is China which backed most of that growth with $131.2 billion, followed by North America ($72.7 billion) and Western Europe ($53.6 billion), which isn’t really a surprise.
For the future, the markets which will drive the most success are again likely going to be developing ones, namely Emerging Asia at eight percent, and Central &Â Eastern Europe with a growth rate of 10 percent.
