IDC: The Philippine smartphone market share grew by 26 percent in 2021Q1, realme on top

According to IDC, the Philippine smartphone market share grew by 26.8 percent to bring 4.2 million unit shipments in 2021Q1.

File photo: realme narzo 30A

realme and Xiaomi grew the most in the Philippines during the period

This growth happened despite a 35.3 percent decline versus the previous quarter's large shipments by vendors who took advantage of the high shopping traffic of the holiday season. It added that 2021Q1 was the most relaxed period since the pandemic began, especially January and February before lockdowns were reimposed in March.

Top vendors in the Philippines during the quarter

IDC revealed that realme reclaimed the top spot in the Philippines with 21.3 percent of the market share. Data from the firm revealed that realme more than doubled its shipments compared to last year. The brand also opened new stores in the first quarter of 2021 to further expand its channel reach in areas outside of Manila.

At number 2 is OPPO with 15.3 percent of the pie. The company recorded a decline of 44.7 percent QoQ, but it more than doubled its shipments YoY. IDC noted that the brand brought in more units in the low-end (USD 100 to USD 200) segment where the A15/A15s shipped in high volume and in the mid-range (USD 200 to USD 400) for the Reno5 series.

Samsung climbed to the number 3 spot by launching multiple units at different price points. IDC shared that the A-series is still driving shipments for the company. Also, 5G phones brought in by them more than quadrupled in shipments compared to the previous quarter.

At number 4 is Transsion Holdings, the company behind Infinix, itel, and TECNO with 14 percent of the share. Transsion took the fourth sport by increasing its focus in the ultra low-end (<USD 100) segment and by continuing its offline store expansion outside of Manila.

Xiaomi is at number 5 with 10.9 percent of the pie. IDC claimed that the brand grew almost 3 times its size from last year. It overtook giant vendors vivo and Huawei by leveraging its online channel presence, launching its online Mi Store, and continuing with retail expansion. POCO, the company's sub-brand also continued to gain traction with 15 percent of Xiaomi's shipment within a year.

Despite the economy contracting in 2021Q1, the smartphone market continued to thrive, indicating a growth in demand for devices during the pandemic. Lockdown restrictions softened across the country for most of the first quarter and vaccinations started rolling out in March. This allowed more people to return to work and businesses to resume, therefore driving consumer spending and confidence, says Angela Jenny Medez, Client Devices Market Analyst at IDC Philippines.

With the cases rising from the middle of March, vendors started to prepare for the second lockdown by ensuring that they have the right channel set up and by being ready to fulfill orders to reach consumers, says Medez. Although the smartphone market has proven to be resilient during the pandemic as people became more reliant on devices to keep them connected, we are anticipating 2021Q2/Q3 to slow down due to the rising COVID-19 cases and reimposed lockdowns, prompting vendors to extend their roadmaps, she added.

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Source: IDC