Smartphone downswing alarming in India, to last longer: Report

The downswing in smartphone industry had already started before lockdowns in countries like India and with retail stores now shut, online channels selling essential items like groceries and consumers in no mood for device replacement, the slowdown will be deep and last longer than in China, a new report said.
The smartphone market in China saw a sharp hit in January and February but was already recovering before the end of March as supply chains and retail activity returned to normalcy.
According to Counterpoint Research, the second quarter will reflect a slight rebound with further slight positives throughout the balance of 2020 in China.
However, the picture is not that rosy in India and elsewhere where lockdowns came in place in March.
“It may be as deep as China’s sharp slowdown but will likely last longer. Unlike China, where at least a part of the slowdown was supply driven, the rest of world’s contraction is driven more by consumers withholding replacement activity until they get more comfortable with the new economic realities of their situation,” said Peter Richardson, Research Director, Counterpoint.