SA: Nearly 40% of Chinese users expected to postpone smartphone purchases

08 April 2020
The negative impact of COVID-19 on consumer demand will likely translate to weaker sales going forward.

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Anonymous, 08 Apr 2020At the time of questionnaire, 68% users who had previously ... moreLook at the current state of the economy and what WTO said about how much the world's productions will be dramatically axed this year, those polls numbers are by far too much of optimistic even sounds fishy.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 7xY
    • 09 Apr 2020

    Anders, 08 Apr 2020The Mi10 costs more in Europe than the iPhone 11. I know... moreHTC is not in any way comparable to Xiaomi. (HTC has never had a real market.)

    The primary market of Xiaomi's higher priced phones is China, not Europe, not anywhere outside China. Xiaomi's secondary market is India, but mostly for lower priced phones with low profit margin. Xiaomi's sale in Europe is rather peripheral to Xiaomi's bottom line.

    I fully understand the rational behind the pricing of Xiaomi's flagship phones for 2020, and I think they have made a well-reasoned decision.

    What Xiaomi should do in the future?
    1. Improve the quality of the phone and the post-sale service.
    2. Don't over-commit and over-supply.
    3. Link the Chinese pricing to European pricing through "Purchase Power Parity" exchange rate, not the nominal exchange rate.

    The "Purchase Power Parity" exchange rate between CNY and Euro is ~5.
    Chinese price for Mi 10 Pro: 5000 CNY.
    The correct pricing for Mi 10 Pro for Europe: 1000 Euro.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 7xY
      • 09 Apr 2020

      Anders, 08 Apr 2020The Mi10 costs more in Europe than the iPhone 11. I know... more"The Mi10 costs more in Europe than the iPhone 11."

      So what? Xiaomi Mi 10 is better than iPhone 11 and it should charge more. Xiaomi knows perfect well why they price the phone they do. They are selling exceptionally well in the domestic market, and the supply can't keep up with the demand. If you are looking for a budget flagship, then Mi 10 is not for you. Please wait for Redmi K30 series or many other comparable series from other phone-makers.

        Sg_man, 08 Apr 2020What do you expect dude? These are companies doing business... moreThe Mi10 costs more in Europe than the iPhone 11.

        I know they are not charities, but what they don't seem to understand is that increasing their prices will decrease their sales meaning they will actually end up making less money.

        That's what happened to HTC. Now they're nearly dead

          • Z
          • Zero
          • Lyx
          • 08 Apr 2020

          Sg_man, 08 Apr 2020What do you expect dude? These are companies doing business... moreThe iPhone SE2 seems to change it again, ruining the Androids on the process.

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            • Sg_man
            • t7v
            • 08 Apr 2020

            Anders, 08 Apr 2020Not just greedy capitalist companies. Have you seen the pri... moreWhat do you expect dude? These are companies doing business not some charity organizations. They can't be keep their price low when labor cost,parts and taxes are increasing. Look at Apple their pricing are ridiculously high compared to most android in the market.

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              • Anonymous
              • S9u
              • 08 Apr 2020

              bring p40pro to Europe asap

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                • Anonymous
                • vry
                • 08 Apr 2020

                Anders, 08 Apr 2020Not just greedy capitalist companies. Have you seen the pri... moreFunny but most of the chinese hating crowd will still end up buying Chinese brands and then proceed to judge non chinese products based on the cheap price tags of china brands.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • 7xc
                  • 08 Apr 2020

                  The virus breakout will certainly dent the smartphone market worldwide, but I am least worried about the Chinese smartphone market. Given the very brisk sale of 5G phones in recent weeks, a significant uptick is expected for the 2nd Quarter. We should see that by the end of 2nd Quarter.

                  Most of the phone-makers at the beginning of 2020 thought that the Chinese smartphone market's switch from 4G to 5G will take one full year. But the market's response has been surprisingly favorable to such a switch. The market has forced some of the phone-makers, such as Xiaomi and Vivo, to make a mid-course correction of their product planning. The recent hardcore turn towards 5G by Xiaomi and Vivo is a result of such market forces.

                  According to Lu Weibing (VP of Xiaomi), Xiaomi has made such a hardcore switch because Xiaomi has the confidence to reverse the price difference between 5G and 4G phones, not only reducing the "5G phone premium" to zero, but also delivering a "5G phone bonus", by the end of 2020.

                  In other words, the market's march towards 5G phone is not only taking off, but taking off at a pace faster than expected.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • 7xc
                    • 08 Apr 2020

                    paco2x, 08 Apr 2020"In conclusion, the market looks encouraging, given the cir... moreAt the time of questionnaire, 68% users who had previously planned to upgrade to a 5G device have given affirmative answers that they will continue to upgrade to a 5G device.

                    On what ground can you question the truthfulness of these users' answers?

                      Anonymous, 08 Apr 2020The correct analysis based on given data should be as follo... more"In conclusion, the market looks encouraging, given the circumstance. 68% users who had previously planned to upgrade to a 5G device will continue as usual"

                      You are counting those 68% users will still have jobs after this current situation, most of them probably they will get layoff, so this year and the other will be low sales for every phone maker.

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                        • Guru
                        • YQS
                        • 08 Apr 2020

                        I will return my Chinese phone purchased a month ago once the lockdown ends in my country.. Will buy a South Korean Brand Smartphone, probably Samsung.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • 7xc
                          • 08 Apr 2020

                          The correct analysis based on given data should be as follows:
                          1) Will buy smartphone in 2020:
                          - as planned, 28%;
                          - sooner than planned, 9%;
                          - had not planned but will now, 5%;
                          Total: 42%
                          2) will not buy smartphone in 2020:
                          - Won't buy at all, 9%;
                          - Still don't plan to buy, 21%;
                          - postponed, 28%.
                          Total: 58%

                          For any given normal year, only 40%-50% of smartphone owners will upgrade. This is not that different from 42% given here. Virus breakout has so far not noticeably slowed down the projected smartphone purchase for the whole year of 2020.

                          It is important to note the following:
                          - sooner than planned, 9%;
                          - had not planned but will now, 5%.
                          These 14% of people who have developed a pent-up desire to purchase as a result of Virus breakout. This is classified as "compensatory consumption" which may drive the growth in unexpected area, according to some economists.

                          In conclusion, the market looks encouraging, given the circumstance. 68% users who had previously planned to upgrade to a 5G device will continue as usual, a good sign for the 5G market.


                            Anonymous, 08 Apr 2020Clever people. No one will buy and prices will sink. Gree... moreNot just greedy capitalist companies. Have you seen the prices of the new Huawei and Xiaomi phones?

                            They've all lost their minds. Sales are declining, they've responded by increasing their prices.

                            People just won't pay it. HTC were arrogant fools too who wouldn't lower their prices now they're nearly out of business

                            Vote with your wallets people. If you want prices to drop, keep not buying their phones. They will have to budge eventually or go bust

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                              • Anonymous
                              • Kxu
                              • 08 Apr 2020

                              Rise of laptops. People need productivity tools for remote working.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • 3Rs
                                • 08 Apr 2020

                                Clever people.
                                No one will buy and prices will sink.
                                Greedy capitalist companies lose and we, people, consumers win !
                                After COVID world wont be same, people will get wiser and have other priorities .

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                                  • AnonD-731363
                                  • Lfw
                                  • 08 Apr 2020

                                  Haha using same phone for almost 30 months now.
                                  I am also not planning to get new device this year.
                                  My Moto X4 apart the battery is still like a brand new and even if i could get a new phone getting a screen protector a good book case would be difficult due to coronavirus so i am waiting.