Smart Device sales rise in third quarter
It’s no surprise that the tablet and smartphone market continues to strengthen and smart device sales continue to increase each quarter, and while third quarter results are no exception, the exact increased percentage may surprise you. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), With over 303 million shipments of smartphones, tablets, and PCs, the third quarter of 2012 increased by 27.1 percent. That increase was worth over $140 billion. The majority of the increase is due to smartphones and tablets, led by Apple and Samsung.
Apple and Samsung continued to battle it out and the third quarter, but when it comes to who shipped the most products, the trophy goes to Samsung, who has 21.8 percent of the shipment-based market share. While Apple is second in that department, it’s first when it comes to the value of the shipped products, which averaged about $744 per product, which includes all devices. Apple retained a little over 15 percent of the market share and Lenovo, HP, and Sony followed, with respective market share percentages of 7 percent, 4.6 percent, and 3.6 percent.
Positive outlook for fourth quarter sales
With the holidays right around the corner, it’s projected that the fourth quarter of 2012 will continue upward, with fourth quarter shipments forecast at 362 million units, with a market value of over $169 billion. The majority of the expected products to be sold in the fourth quarter of 2012 will be smartphones and tablets, with an expected growth of 39.5 percent for smartphones and 55.8 percent for tablets. PCs, however, will most likely bring the overall growth down a bit, as many consumers are opting for tablets than the more traditional PC.
According to IDC, the end of the holiday season won’t mean the end for steady and continuing increases for the smartphone and tablet markets. By 2016, IDC believes that shipments will be well over 2.1 billion units and have a market value of $796.7 billion. However, IDC also states that the ASP (average selling price) will go from the $534 that is was last year to just about $378 in 2016. But this will be caused by the demand for more affordable smartphones and tablets and more sophisticated and more expensive PC options.
Because cloud-based services are increasing in popularity as well, it only encourages consumers to buy multiple devices, as the ease of switching between devices has never been more convenient.
