Ife Ogunfuwa with agency report

Africa ’ s two biggest markets saw extremely strong growth in the shipment of smartphones and feature phones , up 19 . 9 per cent quarter -on - quarter in Nigeria and 27 . 0 per cent in South Africa .

However , Africa ’ s smartphone market experienced a quarter - on- quarter decline of 6 . 4 per cent during fourth quarter of 2017 , according to the latest insights announced by International Data Corporation .

The global technology research and consulting firm ’ s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows smartphone shipments were down to 20 . 3 million units for the quarter.

IT News Africa reports that year on year , this represents an 18 . 0 per cent decline , meaning the YoY improvement seen in the previous quarter did not extend to the year ’s final – and traditionally strongest – quarter .

In the feature phone space , shipments totalled 33 . 4 million units , up 3 . 1 per cent QoQ after decreasing in the previous quarter . Year on year , the feature phone market was up 9 . 9 per cent . Feature phones continue to account for a majority share ( 62 . 2 per cent of the region ’ s overall mobile phone market as they adequately address the needs of consumers that have limited purchasing power and require a reliable long - lasting mode of communication , particularly in rural areas .

Combining smartphones and feature phones together , the overall Africa mobile phone market saw shipments of 53 . 7 million units in Q 4 2017 , which represents downturns of 0 . 7 per cent QoQ and 2 . 6 per cent YoY .

North Africa also experienced a slight increase, although there were declines across most other markets , which explains the region ’ s overall decline .
“ Major campaigns took place around Black Friday and during the lead up to Christmas , which positively impacted consumer spending in Nigeria and South Africa , ” a research manager at IDC , Ramazan Yavuz , said.

“ While Nigeria continues to recover from recession and consumer spending is on the rise , there are also clear signs of improvement in South Africa . The end to the political crisis means that challenging economic conditions will be addressed as a priority by the new government , which will have a positive effect on consumer confidence and spending on mobile phones . ”

In terms of the vendor landscape , Transsion brands continued to lead the smartphone category in Q 4 2017 with 30 . 4 per cent share , followed closely by Samsung on 27 per cent .

“ The Transsion Group maintains its top position by designing attractively priced devices that address the specific needs of each local market – a strategy the group proudly refers to as its ‘ glocal ’ approach , ” a senior research manager at IDC , Nabila Popal said.

“ Despite the significant presence of Transsion brands in most African markets , it is important to note the increasing prevalence of local brands that are gaining considerable share in their home markets and slowly expanding to surrounding countries . ”
In the feature phone space , Tecno and itel – both of which are Transsion brands – continued to dominate in Q 4 2017 with a combined share of 57 . 2 per cent .
IDC ’ s research shows that 4 G phones are growing in popularity , finally accounting for a majority share of the smartphone market at 56 . 8 per cent .

Shipments of 4 G devices were up 3 . 9 per cent QoQ in Q 4 2017 , with a drop in prices for entry - level 4 G phones and an increase in the number of 4 G networks across the continent driving this growth .
“ Despite the push of operators towards 4 G , the price differential between 3 G and 4 G devices together with the price sensitivity of African consumers means that many people in Africa still prefer 3 G phones , ” Popal says .

Looking ahead, IDC expects Africa ’ s overall mobile phone market to grow 0 . 7 per cent QoQ in Q 1 2018 , with overall shipments to increase slightly through 2018 , leading to YoY growth of two per cent for the year as a whole.

Demand for feature phones is expected to remain strong , although the IDC expects vendors to drive smartphone uptake by offering more features in affordable price bands .


http://punchng.com/nigeria-south-africa-record-strong-growth-in-phone-market/