A 19.5% increase in smartphone sales in Russia was registered in January 2020 compared to the same month last year, Vedomosti reports citing data provided by a partner company of several electronics manufacturers.
According to the data, more than 3 million smartphones were sold in Russia in January this year.
The sales have not grown so fast in January and February for several years, the paper quotes Valeria Andreeva of M.Video-Eldorado Group as saying. Compared to the first two months of last year, the group increased smartphone sales in pieces by 43%, and in rubles — by 30%.
Sales growth stems from potential delays in electronics supplies to Russia because of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the paper quotes news website Telecom Daily’s CEO Denis Kuskov as saying. Those consumers who planned to purchase new smartphones decided to do so in January without waiting for prices to grow.
Prices could increase by the end of March or the beginning of April because of shortages, he went on to say. The ruble exchange rate is down, coronavirus has not been defeated yet, so one can say that smartphone sales will slow down in 2020, the expert said.
The share of Chinese cell phones in the Russian market is growing, many manufacturers are dependent on Chinese components, so the outbreak of coronavirus infection in China triggered concern among customers in Russia, hence, sales growth, says Infoline Analytics CEO Mikhail Burmistrov.
