Coronavirus causes global smartphone sales to fall in February

The global smartphone sale declined by up to 14% in February 2020 when compared to February 2019 due to the coronavirus outbreak, as per the latest report by market tracker Counterpoint. China, the initial epicenter of the epidemic, saw a huge 38% decline, but is showing signs of a rebound already.
“Overall, global smartphone sales in February showed weakness in many markets as consumers became cautious. But with the growth of online channels, we saw sales shifting from offline to online. Offline sales in China fell more than 50% during February. But this fall was partially offset with stronger online sales, so the overall drop at 38%, was not so severe,” as per the report.
Sell-in shipments, which represents the supply of smartphones, were relatively weaker, but February is a traditional low period for production, especially if it coincides with the Chinese New Year as was the case this year. Comparing with a year ago, sell-in shipments fell 18%, though again, less bad than the industry feared.