The global mobile phone industry sales grew 12% in Q2 2008 due to expanding subscriber base in emerging markets, launch of low cost handsets and rising replacement sales.
Gartner revealed that the global mobile phone sales surged nearly 12% in Q2 2008 against the same period a year ago, as reported by CNETNews.
The industry sold around 305 Million handsets in Q2 2008 and the highest increase was noticed in the Asian region at 20.5% followed by the Middle East and Africa at 18%. The mobile sales growth in the US and Canada was logged at 6.5%. The handset sales in Western Europe reached nearly 42 Million units while in North America, it crossed 44 Million. Moreover, it is anticipated that handset sales will rise 11% to 1.28 Billion this year.
Growth in the global mobile phone industry sales got a major support from the rising number of subscribers in the emerging markets in the last three months. Consequently, the mobile phone sales rose significantly worldwide. Moreover, mature markets saw an increasing number of consumers giving preference to mid-tier devices that boosted the sales.
In addition, low cost mobile handsets in conjunction with price cuts have played a key role in the growth of global mobile phone sales. Also, the replacement sales account for a significant proportion in the total sales of the industry.
The global mobile phone industry is expected to grow rapidly in near future on account of improved business conditions that will push up the sales both in emerging and mature markets. However, rising inflation with soaring food and fuel prices across the globe are viewed as a big challenge for the industry.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The global mobile industry sales are growing at a blistering pace on the back of low prices of handsets and high demand in emerging countries. It will also increase strengthen the economic growth of the countries. But spiraling inflation is one of the biggest challenges for the industry. People are spending low on gadgets, including mobile phones. Therefore, the mobile manufacturers should bring out low cost handsets to lure more customers to the market.”
Related Market Research Reports:
Global Mobile TV Forecast to 2010
3G Market Forecast to 2010
China Telecom Analysis (2008-2012)
