Worldwide mobile device sales are expected to decline by 0.67% to 1.21 billion units in 2009 compared to 2008, due to stronger than expected sales in Western Europe and an acceleration in the grey market in the third quarter of this year, according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner.
In September, Gartner forecasted the sales to decline by 3.7% in 2009 and now predicts the sales in 2010 to show 9% increase from 2009.
Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner, said: “Although the grey market or white label is not a new phenomenon and has been generated by Chinese device manufacturers who do not have a licence to sell and manufacture devices without a valid international mobile equipment identity (IMEI), today grey-market sales are no longer limited to China.”
“All manufacturers will have to compete with grey-market players as they expand into emerging markets in Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America and bring a lower weighted average selling price (ASP). The grey market will affect Nokia’s market share the most.”
In 2009, overall market economic conditions impacted disposable income and extended replacement cycles in mature markets from 12 to 18 months.
Gartner expects replacement cycles globally to return to normal within two years, with the introduction of aggressively priced smartphones and shorter contracts. In addition, the research firm also expects second-hand sales in emerging markets and SIM-only sales globally to stabilise in 2010 and to start decreasing from 2011 as consumers feel less macro-economic pressure.
Smartphone volumes will account 14% of total mobile devices sales in 2009, up 23.6% from 2008 and to 38% by 2013. However, this positive outlook could be negatively impacted by mobile operators’ decision to associate all smartphones with high flat-rate data plans, which could increase the total cost of ownership beyond mass-market consumer acceptance, the research firm said.
Ms Milanesi added: “Despite a projected return to growth in 2010, the times of 20% growth are certainly over as mature markets are saturated and most growth will come from emerging markets.
“Pressure will remain for manufacturers to sustain and grow margins as ASP continues to decline. Software, services and content will be much bigger drivers than hardware, pushing traditional mobile phone vendors to reinvent themselves to remain at the top of their game.”
