Industry analyst IDC reports that China’s smartphone market has reached its point of saturation that may hold vital implications for tech giants like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The first quarter of this year saw a slump in the market due to “market saturation”, bringing smartphone shipments of 98.8 million, down by 4.3% from last year.
4 years ago, China overtook the US in 2011 to take the title of the world’s largest smartphone market. However, IDC reports that the dip in the smartphone market could affect the country’s economy. It’s surprising how the slump occurred since there has been a rising trend in Chinese mobile consumers in the recent years that catapulted Apple to make a record $16.8 billion in revenue last year. Similarly, Beijing-based Xiaomi grew up to be a $46 billion company in just 4 years.
This slowdown may increase the stress on manufacturers to look for growth in other countries of South East Asia like India where they can propose partnerships with distributors for better spread of economy.
A suitable example is Xiaomi’s entry in the Indian market with their decision to sell their devices via both online and offline sellers. First started with e-commerce giant Flipkart, the company has also launched its products through The Mobile Store retail chain.
