Russian online smartphone sales rose sharply in the second quarter, with Huawei continuing to hold the top market share.
The country's online smartphone sales rose more than 56 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, with market share reaching an all-time high level of 32 percent, according to a report by market research firm Counterpoint Research.
The growth in sales in the online channel was due to a shift in consumer behavior, which included upgrading devices used for working from home, the report said.
Huawei topped Russia's online smartphone sales with a 35 percent market share, the same as the same period last year.
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Second-ranked Samsung had a 24 percent market share, down 12 percentage points from the same period last year.
Xiaomi ranked third with a 22 percent market share, up 9 percentage points from the same period last year.
Apple ranked fourth with 8 percent market share, while OPPO had 2 percent market share and ranked fifth.
The top five smartphone brands accounted for 86 percent of the total online smartphone market during the quarter.
The Samsung Galaxy A51, Honor 8A, Honor 20 Lite, Honor 10i, and iPhone 11 were the best-selling models in the online sales channel.
"We believe COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst to change consumer behavior in Russia. However, people still prefer cash on delivery for online smartphone sales. The penetration of online channel sales will increase in the future with the adoption of digital payment systems," Counterpoint Associate Director Tarun Pathak said.
Pathak added: “Premium brands like Apple may face problems in coming times if the Russian government implements its decision for mandatory installation of Russian-made software on a smartphone from January 1, 2021.”
