Global Online Sales Share of Mobile Phones Expands to 23% This Year

Counterpoint "26% Online Sales Share in 2024"
US and China Online Sales Increase 3-5%p in Q1 Due to COVID-19

2019 Global Mobile Phone Online Sales Share (Source: Counterpoint Research)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] As contactless consumption becomes the norm, more people are purchasing mobile phones online. It is forecasted that the global share of online mobile phone sales will increase to 23% this year.

On the 29th, global market research firm Counterpoint Research projected that the global share of online mobile phone sales will expand from 20% last year to 23% this year, an increase of 3 percentage points, and further to 26% in 2024.

Last year, the online sales share by country was highest in the following order: ▲United States 41% ▲United Kingdom 34% ▲Germany 33% ▲China 25% ▲United States 14% ▲South Korea 13%. Although there was little change in the online sales share over the past 2-3 years, since the first quarter of this year, as COVID-19 spread and offline stores were unable to operate properly, online sales volume increased significantly.

Q1 2020 Online Mobile Phone Sales Share in the US, India, and China (Source: Counterpoint Research)

Last year, the share of online smartphone sales in the United States was only 14%, but it increased to 17% in the first quarter of this year, and China also rose from 25% last year to 30% in the first quarter. India expanded to 40%. Counterpoint expects the domestic market, which was around 13% last year, to show a similar level this year as well.

Lim Sujeong, a researcher at Counterpoint Research, explained, “Although the growth rate of spending on consumer goods is slowing down, the proportion of online spending in total expenditure is steadily increasing, and due to COVID-19, the share of online smartphone sales is expected to rise faster than anticipated.”

Researcher Lim added, "In addition to traditional online distribution channels, omni-channel and O2O, which organically integrate online and offline, are becoming established to some extent in the European market, and as this trend spreads globally, it could have a positive impact on the expansion of the online market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.