German consulting firm to organize Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona GfK Analyze the global market Telecom. According to his forecasts, the industry overall had to deal with declines in 2022, although some categories retained good results. Until 2023, GfK predicts a stability in sales.
segment smart phonesincluding phabletsBetween January and December 2022, there was a 9.1 percent decrease in demand compared to the previous year and a total of 908 million units were sold. Revenue fell further, falling 10.2 percent to $330 billion.
As consumer budgets shrink, nearly the only market driver in 2022 high and medium income. In fact, these groups have grown by more than 4 percent compared to 2021 and now represent 48 percent of the total. On the other hand, demand for premium devices has also increased, for example 1.2 percent of revenue in 1999. 5G models For all of 2022 compared to 2021. Something that also applies to devices with more storage. Smartphones with capacities over 256GB recorded a 19 percent increase and accounted for 41 percent of total market revenue in 2022.
new shopping habits
While consumers who still buy smartphones prefer high-end devices, the total number of purchases fell in 2022. One reason is that owners keep devices longer. GFK data from January to September 2018, only 48 percent of shoppers had used their device for two years or more. This share increased to 57 percent in the same period of 2022 (more than 9 percentage points increase). This fact is especially observed in Generation Z (people aged 15-25), where the share is 14 percent higher than the average. The younger generation is clearly focusing on sustainability and therefore consciously extending the lifespan of their devices.
Optimal forecasts for wearables
Wearables is one of the segments that has consistently managed to surpass the challenging 2022. With 13.9 billion dollars turnover, that year it achieved almost the same level it reached in 2021 (with a slight decrease of 1.1 percent). While the most popular categories lost ground, this was offset by the growth of other product lines. The revenue growth by wearables category in 2022 compared to the previous year was as follows:
Health and Fitness tracker: -31 percent
smart watches: +21 percent
Wrist Sports Computers: -43 percent
These changes have been driven by increasing consumer demand for more granular control over their health through the use of smart features. As a result, wearables with sleep monitoring (4 percent increase) or sensors to measure blood oxygen (20 percent increase) have seen strong growth. This trend has also led to improvements in innovation; stress level measurement (EDA). Launched in the fourth quarter of 2021, these devices currently account for 16 percent of revenue in the wearables market and continue to grow.
Forecasts for 2023
GfK expects this to be a stronger year than previous years for the global Telecom market. a relatively weak 2022. The development of the main product categories is expected to be positive.
Smartphone purchases made during the peak of the epidemic Despite the extended lifetime of these devices – between 2020 and 2021 – they are opening a new equipment renewal window this year.
Next-generation sensors for health monitoring in wearables and expanding the reach of your apps will boost the market. In addition, revenue growth is expected in the smartwatch segment.
VR/AR expected to become more tangible and grow in other areas beyond the game. This is one of the categories with the greatest potential in the coming years.