Uh, oh. The slowing US economy is extracting its toll on all sectors including it seems on the mobile phone vendors. Market researcher NPD has estimated that US mobile phone handset sales fell 22% year-over-year in the first quarter to 31 million units.
NPD estimated total US revenues from handset sales at $2.7 billion, down 7% over the same period last year. Although Motorola maintained its No-1 status in the quarter, its share fell from 35% to 27% while RIM Blackberry moved into the fifth position edging out Sanyo.
“For the first time since NPD has tracked handset sales, we’ve noted a decline in sales during the first quarter after the holidays,” said NPD’s director of industry analysis Ross Rubin. “Cellular phone service has become a practical necessity in modern life; however, with looming economic concerns on the horizon, many consumers may be holding back on new handset purchases.”
Market share of top handset vendors in Q1 by units sold
Motorola 27%
Samsung 18%
LG 17%
Nokia 8%
RIM Blackberry 5%
Source: NPD
According to NPD, mobile phones sold in Q1 of this year were more feature-rich than those sold in the same period last year. Smartphone sales are estimated to have accounted for 17% of all mobile phone sales in Q1, an increase of 10 percentage points over the same period a year ago.
Handset sales continued to be dominated by carriers, who accounted for 63% of unit sales compared to 9% for mass merchandisers and 6% for electronic specialty stores.