Global smartphone sales has seen a growth of six percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to last year, which brought in a total of 1.4 Billion units sold in the whole 2016. The total unit in 2016's fourth quarter is 391 million, 22 million more units than 2015 in the same period.
The more detailed breakdown of this finding stated that the surge in the last quarter of 2016 is due to promotions offered by wireless carriers. It is also expected that smartphone sales will reach a moderate five percent increase in year-on-year sales in 2017.
North America's Stagnated Market
According to GFK, the North American smartphone market started growing again during the last quarter of 2016, which is due to flagship device launches, numerous deals and aggressive operator promotions. Another vital factor, which added to solid 2016's fourth quarter record in North America, is the launch of a few lead gadgets.
The smartphone demand total is 1.41 billion units in 2016 and it is predicted that the worldwide growth in 2017 will see a five percent year-on-year increase, thus achieving an estimated 1.48 billion in unit sales. However, the North American market overall stagnated given how it represented 191.3 million deals in 2016, which is just 300,000 more than in 2015.
Western Europe's Saturation Of Sales
The Western Europe paints a better picture than North America, which demand totaled 38.6 million smartphone units in the fourth quarter of 2016. The smartphone demand was quite strong in Great Britain, especially during Black Friday. However, it was also noted that the Western European smartphone market will stagnate in 2017. Germany and France have an offset of 10 percent that brings the sales to 131.6 million units.
Chinese Market's Rising Demand
The Chinese market delivered a total 118.9 million units in the last quarter of 2016, which is 12 percent year-on-year. The Chinese vendors managed to reach a market share of 12.1 percent. It is also expected to continue growing with the help of 4G networks expansion. Approximately, 57 percent of Chinese vendors were encouraged to update the 2G and 3G networks. The Chinese market is expected to bring four percent growth in 2017.
