In the shadow of economic uncertainty and inflationary pressure European market smartphones. Entrance Europe was negative in the first quarter of 2023, but the decline was more moderate than global. Smartphone sales in Western Europe fell 9.4% in the first three months of the year compared to last year, the smallest drop of any individual market on the planet.

According to SEPE, in the first quarter, the European smartphone market faced adverse factors such as sluggish demand, high inventories, inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty. At the same time, consumers still prioritize travel and entertainment over smartphone purchases. “The industry is going through a period of depletion. Market participants remain cautious, adhering to a conservative approach to inventories in order to avoid unpleasant situations, ”underlines the International Data Corporation (IDC).

In the global market, the sign was negative by 14.6% in the first quarter of 2023, while in developed markets such as the US, the decline was contained to 11.5%. In China, the decline was about 12%. In contrast, emerging markets fell more, by 17%-20%. According to IDC’s preliminary data, contained in the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, 268.6 million units were sold worldwide in the first three months of this year. This decline marks the seventh straight quarter of decline. And while that’s higher than the 12.7% originally forecast, the results don’t surprise analysts. Barring unforeseen circumstances, IDC expects the market to enter positive territory in the third quarter of 2023 and be in strong double-digit growth by the last quarter of the fiscal year.

“While we are optimistic about recovery by the end of the year, we still have 3-6 difficult months ahead of us. All links in the chain are worried about when exactly the situation will change, and want to be the first to ride the wave of recovery. However, this is a difficult situation. Anyone who starts work too early will be suffocated by excess inventory, ”says IDC.