Smartphone Brands may flood market with smartphones, and offers restrictions ease: Analysts

Smartphone brands, grappling with plunging sales, are likely to flood the market with new devices, aggressive pricing and channel incentives, in the hope of capitalizing on likely pent up demand after the Covid-19 induced restrictions wind down, analysts say.

“When the markets reopen, all the major OEMs will rush to address the latency in demand by heavily incentivizing both offline and online channels,” said Neil Shah, Research Director, Counterpoint Research. Almost all major phone brands have suspended launch of their latest offerings including Oppo Enco M31, Vivo V19, Realme Narzo and Xiaomi Mi 10 while keeping stocks on hold.

“If the COVID-19 situation gets normal by the end of April, we should expect brands to resume product launches and devise pricing and marketing strategies to push sales,” Shah said.

However, there is no denying to the fact that organic growth will be difficult and consumers will only buy a phone out of necessity or maybe settle for a refurbished one depending on their spending ability, he added.

Market research agencies have slashed their 2020 smartphone sale forecasts to show a first ever decline of 3-4% on year, from an expected 6-8% rise. While Counterpoint Research predicts a 3% on year fall in shipments in year 2020, as consumers focus on non-essential purchases and conserve cash.