European smartphone shipments declined 12 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, data from Counterpoint Research showed, with the company forecasting further challenges ahead due to a deteriorating macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.

Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service registered 49 million shipments in Europe during Q1, the lowest in the region since the opening period of 2013, caused by a number of factors including ongoing component shortages, Covid-19 (coronavirus) related lockdowns in China, deteriorating economic conditions and the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Commenting on the decline, Counterpoint Research’s associate director Jan Stryjak believes the factors causing the fall “have been exacerbated by new economic and geopolitical challenges”.

“Rising inflation levels across the region are impacting consumer spending,” he said, noting Samsung and Apple, which were Russia’s first- and third-ranked smartphone vendors respectively, halted all shipments into the country in March 2022.

Stryjak added both vendors make up around half of Russia’s overall smartphone shipments, but account for only 6 per cent of total European shipments.

“The consequences of their withdrawal are, therefore, still relatively small on a regional scale. However, the impact of the war may develop wider ramifications if it leads to a drop in availability of new materials, a rise in prices, further inflationary pressure and/or other vendors withdrawing from Russia,” said Stryjak,

Recession
Counterpoint Research expects the overall situation to get worse before it gets better, also citing the threat of recession in many countries. Annual shipments are expected to decline “for the next few quarters”, noted the research company, especially in Q2.

Samsung topped European shipments during the opening quarter, with a 35 per cent shipment market share, down 16 per cent.

Apple was in second place with 25 per cent, a 6 per cent decline and Xiaomi rounded out the top three, hitting 14 per cent market share, a 36 per cent shipment share decline.