Q4 smartphone shipments down 18%, steepest fall in nine years
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Worldwide smartphone sales in Q4 declined 18% to 300.3M units. This marks the largest-ever decline in a single quarter and contributed to a steep 11.3% sales downturn for the year.
Total 2022 shipments were 1.21B, which represents the lowest annual shipment total since 2013. The reasons behind such dampened demand were weak consumer demand, inflation, and economic uncertainties, according to market intelligence provider IDC.
"We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter. However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on shipments," IDC research director Nabila Popal declared. "Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth. Vendors are increasingly cautious in their shipments and planning while realigning their focus on profitability. Even Apple, which thus far was seemingly immune, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China. What this holiday quarter tells us is that rising inflation and growing macro concerns continue to stunt consumer spending even more than expected and push out any possible recovery to the very end of 2023."
Here is a look at the major smartphone makers across the globe and their sales volume.

A 2.8% recovery is expected in 2023, however, downward risk to the forecast seems considerable. The outcome of slowing sales could be better discounts for consumers and vendors rethinking their portfolios before stacking up on more inventory.
Take a look at IDC reports from last month here.
Tickers to watch: Samsung Electronics (OTCPK:SSNLF) (OTCPK:SSNNF); Apple (AAPL); Xiaomi (OTCPK:XIACF) (OTCPK:XIACY); Nokia (NOK) (OTCPK:NOKBF); Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ERIC) (OTCPK:ERIXF)