Data released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) showed that Samsung is dominating the smartphone and tablet market in South Africa, specifically in the last three months of 2015 with a 53% unit share.
According to IDC, the growth in Samsung’s market share came despite a weakening rand that did not deter consumers from buying smartphones. Sales of smartphones in South Africa grew 11% in volume and 22% in value on a year on year basis.
“The biggest growth comes from the mid-range smartphone class with more than 100% growth for both volume and value,” Teboho Leshage, senior research analyst at IDC South Africa, told Fin24.
“The total market growth in Q4 2015 was along the expectations and the seasonality as Q4 is a festive season in South Africa and people opt to buy their kids and family smartphones as gifts,” Leshage said.
Meanwhile, Apple made a showing in second place because of the brand’s high Average Sales Price (ASP) of $852 (R13 203), resulting in volume growth of 50%.
“This growth can be attributed to the growth in the iPhone 6 Plus, which more than doubled its units from 2015 Q3. IDC has forecasted steady growth rates for smartphones for the 2016 – 2020 forecast period, to be expected, volume growth rates are forecasted to grow faster than the value growth rates,” said Leshage.
Fin24 reported that South Africans are still buying feature phones which made up 47% unit share, but only 4% value share because of low ASPs.
