In 2017, the Chinese smart phone market (calculated by unit shipments) decreased by 4.9% from 2016 to 444.3 million units. Since 2012 became the world’s largest market, China has been stimulating smart phone sales for the first time. The impact was huge, causing the global market to fall below the previous year for the first time in 2017 (a 0.1% decrease from 2016).
Changes in sales rankings
China's smart phone market sells more than 400 million units each year, accounting for about 30% of global sales. The fierce competition is unique in the world. The lineup at the forefront of annual sales is also changing, which is enough to illustrate the fierce competition.
The United States Apple (179.98, 3.04, 1.72%) ranks second in global sales after Samsung, and is very popular. However, in China, although Apple was once strong, sales have never reached the top of the year, and only 2017 ranked In fifth place.
In 2014, 2015 was the first place, and the tumultuous millet fell to the 5th place in 2016 and only the 4th place in 2017. The previously rapidly growing OPPO took the top spot in 2016, but then the growth rate slowed down. Instead of Huawei's first summit in 2017, Huawei's technology is difficult to predict.
Reasons for market slowdown
There are several reasons why the Chinese market has lost its strong momentum. First, the slowdown in the growth of OPPO and vivo, the two largest emerging companies in 2016, has had a huge impact.
In particular, the OPPO, for the first time in 2016, topped the Chinese market, but the heat did not last long, and it quickly slowed down in the second half of 2017. Many people believe that 'because it is a new brand of smart phones, young people in China have initially To OPPO and vivo, but soon tired, these two companies have not been able to rely on the strength of commodities to maintain long-term heat' (Japanese parts manufacturers executives).
As a result, OPPO only increased by 2.7% in 2017, and Vivo dropped by 0.8%. The actual situation was even more severe. In October-December 2017, OPPO fell by 18.5%, Vivo dropped by 13%, and the downturn became more serious.
However, the two companies are still in the second and third place in the Chinese market. Because of this, if these two emerging companies supporting the market decline for a long time, the Chinese market may further decline in 2018.
The second reason is the downturn of Apple in the United States. The iPhone 8 that was launched in September of 2017 and the highest-end iPhone X that went on sale in November did not have the ability to turn the market off.
In the past, China was known as the cash cow of Apple, but in 2017 Apple's sales volume in China decreased by 8.3%, its market share dropped to 9.3%, and fell below 10%. The sales ranking also dropped from the 4th in 2016 to the 5th.
In China, the 'word of mouth' message and 'face' are more important shopping motives. Therefore, as long as negative information is transmitted online, it may lose popularity.
In addition, Chinese consumers are more likely to be old and new to their products, so China can be described as a 'hot and volatile market' (in charge of smart phone stores in Guangzhou). For enterprises, China is undoubtedly a cruel market that needs careful handling. In 2017, Huawei ranked first for the first time, but only increased by 6.5% in October-December, and it gradually became difficult to feel the momentum of the past.
Every year, many emerging manufacturers continue to emerge in China, and they have recently disappeared. These emerging companies have been eliminated by the market. The scene of a few years ago is no longer in existence. The overall smart phone market in China is decelerating. It is currently impossible to predict the winners. The fierce competition in 2018 has kicked off when the market is fogged.