Bangladesh's smart-phone shipment declined 23 per cent YoY in 2022, according to the latest research of Counterpoint's Market Monitor Service.
High inflation level, macro-economic crisis, disruption of global supply chain, increased import duties, and newly imposed value-added tax (VAT) contributed to the decline, it noted.
However, Xiaomi and Nokia HMD's shipments increased significantly, as they continued to focus on improving localisation and pricing strategies to make smart-phones affordable, said a press release of Counterpoint.
Commenting on the factors that affected smart-phone shipment in 2022, research analyst Akshay RS said, "The year started with weak consumer demand due to geopolitical uncertainties and rising inflation."
"An increase in import duties in the September-ended quarter combined with application of VAT in the December-ended quarter aggravated the situation and led to Bangladesh's first double-digit smart-phone shipment decline in seven years."
"At the same time, the opening of letters of credit (L/Cs) for components became harder due to declining foreign currency reserve. This led to a reduction in the production of local handset manufacturers."
Xiaomi reached its highest-ever shipment in 2022 to become the number one smart-phone brand for the first time by doubling its volume in 2022 compared to 2021.
Xiaomi's Redmi smart-phones in the budget price band (BDT 10,000-BDT 20,000 or around $100-$200), like the 10A, 10C and 10 (2022), drove volumes for the brand.
Samsung slipped to the second spot with a market share of 13 per cent in 2022.
Weak smart-phone import due to spiraling import cost, reduced focus on the entry-level segment, and fewer launches in the mid segment led to an overall decline, said the report.
Realme slipped to the third spot with an 11 per cent market share due to increased competition in the entry- and mid-level price bands.
However, promotions and strong marketing helped Realme to remain as a strong competitor.
Vivo and OPPO were able to maintain their market shares in 2022, but declined YoY in terms of shipment volumes by 17 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.
Talking about the key buying factors in 2022, Akshay RS said the mid-tier price segment - ranging from Tk 20,000 to 30,000 - shipment grew 17 per cent YoY in 2022, and it was the sweet spot for the market in 2022.
Bangladesh's overall mobile handset market declined 8.0 per cent in 2022. Symphony maintained its top position in the handset market, capturing a 26 per cent share.
The feature phone market grew 4.0 per cent in 2022 due to the weakened transition to smart-phones caused by price hike in the second half of the year. Smart-phone share in the overall handset shipment declined to 39 per cent in 2022 from 46 per cent in 2021.
Symphony also retained its top position in Bangladesh's feature phone market, capturing a 37 per cent share followed by itel, Nokia HMD, and Walton.
5G smart-phone shipment exceeded 1.0 million units for the first time in 2022, growing at 151 per cent YoY.
The share of 5G phones in Bangladesh's smart-phone market also reached an all-time high of 17 per cent in 2022, compared to 9.0 per cent in 2021.
