Smartphone shipments down 6% in North America

According to Canalys 35.4 million smartphones shipped in North America during Q2 2022, down 6.4% year-on-year amid ongoing global economic strife.

While the macro trend was decline, Apple still managed to come out smiling having grown its shipments 3%. It has now dominated over half the North American region for three consecutive quarters, which Canalys attributed to solid iPhone 13 demand combined with its entry-level iPhone SE.

Samsung’s shipments also increased 4% as its S series and low-end A series devices continue to sell like hot cakes. However beside the top five vendors (Apple, Samsung, Motorola, TCL and Google) the ‘others’ category fell by 61% for the quarter.

“Consumer interest for low-end and high-end devices is sustaining the market, while the appetite for mid-range devices is vanishing fast,” said Canalys Research Analyst Brian Lynch. “The performance of the iPhone SE (3rd Gen), Galaxy A53, and Galaxy A33 are poorer than initially expected. Decreasing purchasing power is forcing buyers who normally would consider devices costing between US$250 and US$600 to look for cheaper options as consumers continue to feel the financial pressure of inflation on everyday expenses.

“Concerns over demand in the second half of 2022 have taken root for both vendors and carriers, leading to more stringent control over inventory and other costs. Vendors are expected to invest heavily in marketing and offer promotions and bundles to speed up sell-though. This effort will be critical for low-end market challengers looking to grow their market share and defend carrier slots.”

Canalys blames high inflation, decreasing consumer confidence, and an economic slowdown for the tumbling numbers, and apparently vendors are now adapting strategies in line with the falling demand and are focused on reducing the risk of oversupply.

The decline in the North American smartphone market for Q2 mirrors a global decline – Canalys’ own numbers clocks it at a 9% drop. Supply chain issues were highlighted as having an impact, while with regards to demand the same pressures of inflation are having a dampening effect. You might expect Apple blowers to have suffered the most since they are largely in the high end bracket, yet again Apple managed to grow its market share year on year.

All in all, the wider economic pressures impacting all sorts of markets sadly do not look like they are going anywhere anytime soon, so we can probably expect more quarters of decline.

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