Report: Nigeria’s smartphone shipments increased to 3m units in Q3 2020

Latest figure by the International Data Corporation (IDC), a global provider of market intelligence focused on information technology (IT), shows that smartphone shipments into Nigeria increased 13.7 percent quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q3 2020 to almost 3 million units.

According to the firm’s Quarterly Global Mobile Phone Tracker, Nigeria’s smartphone market remained healthy in the third quarter as vendors shifted their model portfolios to entry-level and mid-range devices.

“The average street prices of smartphones declined marginally (0.3 percent) as the dollar exchange rate remained high. The increase in Value Added Tax by 2.5 percentage points also had a negative impact on prices,” the report read.

“With the relaxation of COVID-19 measures, the majority of consumers returned to the physical retail channel in Q3 2020, leading to a 21.5 percent QoQ increase in retail sales.”

Transsion (Tecno, Itel, and Infinix) brands dominated smartphone shipments in Q3 2020 with a combined 76.4 percent share. Samsung placed second with 7.0 percent share and Xiaomi placed third with 5.3 percent leading to a 21.5 percent QoQ increase in retail sales.

In Q3 2020, feature phone shipments increased 21.2 percent QoQ to account for 56 percent of the country’s overall mobile phone market, with major players being Tecno with 49.7 percent share, Itel with 34.8 percent, and Nokia with 8.2 percent.

George Mbuthia, a research analyst at IDC, said: In light of the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, vendors continued to ship more affordable devices priced below $200 as they sought to address demand for cheaper models and penetrate consumer segments with lower purchasing power.”

“This strategy of offering more devices in the entry-level and mid-range price bands (<$200) ensured a faster market recovery from the weak performance seen in Q2 2020, which was heavily impacted by COVID-19.”

On his part, Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC, said: “IDC expects Nigeria’s overall mobile phone market to grow 3.1percent QoQ in Q4 2020, with feature phone shipments increasing by 1.9 percent and smartphone shipments growing by 4.7 percent. Promotions from the end of November through the festive month of December will support the market’s growth in Q4 2020.”

“COVID-19 will continue to pose a threat to the overall economy, in particular, to mobile phone markets. However, smartphone shipments will remain resilient in 2021, with customers moving from feature phones to smartphones and data usage increasing in the medium term.”