5G to revive smartphone sales amid COVID-19 according to International Data Corporation

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 2.4% year over year in 4Q20, followed by 4.4% year-over-year growth in 2021. IDC expects the global market to grow each year through 2024 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.3%. The increased market demand will be due to a recovering the supply chain as well as incentives by OEMs towards the new 5G products.

Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, says, “Despite concerns around weakness in 5G demand, smartphone volumes exceeded the forecast in 3Q20 and supply-side momentum headed into the holiday quarter and 2021 remains strong.”

Ryan also believes that the increase in smartphone sales in the third quarter is due to the change in the trend of consumer spending from travel, food, towards electronics. DC expects 5G smartphone shipments to reach close to 10% of global volume in 2020 and grow to 29% in 2024.

The sales of 5G devices are further expected to increase as the demand increases making the cost go down allowing 5G to come into the hands of the general public just like the 4G is common now.

Sangeetika Srivastava, a senior analyst with IDC, says, “Competitive pricing will play an integral role in shaping 5G development. The COVID-19 crisis has influenced consumer behavior by tilting it toward more budget-friendly devices and narrowing the spend for essentials only. Aggressive promotions and more affordable 5G devices from major smartphone vendors are expected to partially offset the impact in the near term.”

Image Source: IDC, CRG