At the end of 2021, 132.4 million mobile lines were operating in Mexico, that is, more than the number of inhabitants in the country. Of them, more than 93.5% are already in smartphones, that is, we have a total park of 123.8 million smart devices, 7.1% more in its annual comparison. The layers of economic crises began in the country with the red numbers of 2019, accentuated in 2020 and that barely began to be compensated in a low proportion in 2021, with its consequent effects on the purchasing power of the vast majority of the population.
All in all, the average expense dedicated to the acquisition of these devices traces a marked upward trend that has almost doubled its level to $4,371, as a result of the essentiality of having smartphones with better technological characteristics as the axis of our connectivity ecosystem.
Smartphones by ranges. Precisely, the effort in terms of investment for better devices has led users to have greater capacities (processor, battery, memory, screen resolution, camera, among others), migrating to the national market from being one of the majority of Low Range , just 3 years ago, to one mainly from the Medium and High Ranges (77.7% of the total, jointly), to solve the multiplicity of productive, academic, entertainment and other social activities, in the already biannual confinement of the pandemic.
Thus, the weighting of Mid-Range smartphones ($3,000-$10,000 pesos) reached 63.0% of the total, High-Range/Premium at 14.7% ($10,000-$56,999 pesos), while the Low-Range (up to $3,000 pesos) continues with its downward trend with 22.3%.
Dynamism of sales by brand. Another very relevant event has been the reconfiguration of the market due to the number of smartphones sold in Mexico.
At the end of 2021, Motorola was positioned with the highest preference revealed by consumers, registering 29.4% of total sales.
This is the result of the combined effect of two main factors, first, its offer of mid-range devices at affordable prices and with capabilities that even compete head-on with higher-end devices. Second, its return and positioning as a brand of growing relevance in the High Range. The rest of the podium is complemented by the previous sales leader, Samsung (27.5% of the total), Xiaomi (11.3%), Apple (10.6%) and the other promising manufacturer OPPO, already with 9.9% of the total.
Further down and downwards, Huawei with a 4.9% share, as an effect of the impediment to its full functionality with Google services and applications. While a set of other manufacturers accumulates a market share of 6.4% of total equipment sold.
Smartphone market prospects. The Smartphone market registers periodic restructuring, both in Mexico and in the rest of the world.
In this new stage, greater competition is glimpsed in the short term for the almost third of the market that Huawei and LG are leaving.
In addition and as mentioned before, Motorola’s renewed foray into higher ranges, coupled with the onslaught of relatively new brands for the Mexican market such as Vivo, Xiaomi, OPPO and OnePlus, among others that arrived in the national territory and have begun to position devices, add to the reconfiguration of this dynamic market. Without a doubt, this benefits users in Mexico, since the range of possibilities is strengthened, by offering consumption alternatives that incorporate state-of-the-art technology, with affordable prices and that favor the path towards universal mobile connectivity.
@ernestopiedras
Managing Director of The Competitive Intelligence Unit
Competitive intelligence