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Smartphone shipments to China increased by over 20% on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2022 thanks to Single's Day promotion campaigns and vendors' preparation for the Lunar New Year holiday demand. However, the volumes will slip by almost 15% sequentially in the first quarter of 2023 as sales begin to plunge after the holidays.
Abstract
Smartphone shipments to the China market amounted to 70.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022, soaring 21.2% from a quarter ago thanks to vendors' keen preparation for Singles' Day promotions and inventory ramp-up in December for the Lunar New Year holidays in January 2023. However, the volumes still went down 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
In the first quarter of 2023, after the Lunar New Year holidays end, smartphone sales in China are expected to weaken significantly from February to March. Since most consumers in China are still pessimistic about the domestic economy in the first quarter of 2023, China's consumer confidence is unlikely to recover anytime soon; therefore, smartphone brands' combined shipments to the China market are expected to witness a near double-digit on-year decline in the quarter.
Comparing the top-5 China-based brands' fourth-quarter 2022 shipments to the levels seen in the same quarter of 2021, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi had experienced an on-year decline while Huawei and Honor enjoyed growth.
Table of contents
Table 1: Key factors affecting 4Q22 and 1Q23 smartphone shipments in China: Supply
Table 2: Key factors affecting 4Q22 and 1Q23 smartphone shipments in China: Demand
Chart 1: China smartphone market shipments, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 2: China smartphone market shipments by international and local brands, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 3: China smartphone market share by international and local brands, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 4: China smartphone market shipments, by China-based players, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 5: China smartphone market shipment share, by China-based players, 4Q21-1Q23
Chart 6: China smartphone market shipment growth by quarter by China-based players, 4Q21-1Q23
Chart 7: International brand smartphone shipments in China market, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 8: China smartphone market shipments by international brands, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 9: China smartphone market shipment share by international brands, 4Q21-1Q23
Chart 10: China smartphone market quarterly shipment growth by international brands, 4Q21-1Q23
Chart 11: China smartphone market shipments by all vendors, 4Q21-1Q23 (m units)
Chart 12: China smartphone market shipment share by all vendors, 4Q21-1Q23
Chart 13: China telecom carriers' overall subscribers, Jul 2022-Dec 2022 (m users)
Chart 14: China telecom carriers' increased subscriber, Jul 2022-Dec 2022 (m users)
Chart 15: China telecom carriers' 5G subscribers, Jul 2022-Dec 2022 (m users)
Chart 16: China telecom carriers' increased 5G subscribers, Jul 2022-Dec 2022 (m users)
Price: NT$15,000 (approx. US$500)
