Global smartphone shipments fell 11.7 percent to 275.8 million in the first quarter, according to data released Friday by market research firm IDC.
Global smartphone shipments in the first quarter typically show a quarter-on-quarter decline, averaging 15 to 20 percent over the past three years.
However, the first quarter of 2020 saw the largest year-over-year decline on record. This is because the novel coronavirus epidemic began in the first quarter and the first quarter was also the peak of the epidemic in China.
By the end of the first quarter, the epidemic had spread to other parts of the globe.
By region, the largest decline was seen in China in the first quarter of 2020, with shipments down 20.3% year-on-year. As the Chinese market accounts for almost a quarter of global shipments, it has a huge impact on the entire market.
On the other hand, the global market's reliance on China's smartphone supply chain also poses problems. On the other hand, the U.S. and Western European markets were down 16.1 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively.
What started out as a supply-side issue in China has turned into a global economic crisis, says IDC research director Nabila Popal.
In these times of high uncertainty, consumers are increasingly cautious about spending, making it hard to believe that smartphone purchases will not be affected.
The decline in demand, coupled with retail store closures and shutdowns around the world, has had a severe impact on all consumer-grade device markets, including mobile phones.
Mobile phone manufacturers are rethinking their outlook for 2020 due to the uncertainty caused by isolation and the long-term macroeconomic impact.
IDC researchers also said that market demand in China was better than expected in March as new cases of the new crown virus began to slow down. However, the recovery in March was largely due to the previous suppression of demand.
This rally is unlikely to continue, as the global downturn is also expected to affect China and consumer sentiment, with year-on-year growth expected only in the fourth quarter of this year.
In terms of the top five manufacturers, Samsung shipped 58.3 million smartphones in the first quarter, down 18.9% year-on-year. However, Samsung still ranks first with 21.1% market share.
Samsung launched the high-end flagship Galaxy S20, while the A-series phones continue to be successful.
Huawei's shipments were down 17.1 percent year-over-year, but ranked second with a 17.8 percent market share.
Huawei cut prices early on the Mate 30 and P30 series, as well as the Pride V30 and 9X series, while pushing for a diversified layout of online and offline channels to counter the impact of the market downturn.
Apple shipped 36.7 million iPhones in the first quarter, ranking third with a 13.3 percent market share. Apple's shipments were down just 0.4 percent year-over-year, the smallest drop among the top three manufacturers. This is largely due to the continued success of the iPhone 11.
Looking ahead, the recently launched new iPhone SE could be a big help if the economic situation causes consumers to gravitate more towards lower-priced products.
Xiaomi's shipments rose 6.1 percent year-on-year and its market share topped 10 percent for the first time. In India, Xiaomi gave the first quarter numbers a helping hand with the launch of new Poco and Redmi products before the full isolation began.
Vivo reentered the top five with a 9.0% market share for the quarter and the highest growth rate among the top five with shipments up 7.0% year-on-year. Vivo's success in India with its low- and mid-range Y-series and S-series phones was a key driver.
