The global analyst CCS Insight has downgraded its expectations on global mobile phone sales in 2019 to 1.8 billion units, a drop of 3 per cent from 2018. It had previously predicted sales to reach 2 billion units by 2022 but its new five-year outlook is for 1.9 billion on an annual basis until 2023.

Changing consumer behaviour, particularly in Western Europe, is one of the main drivers of the stagnant mobile phone market. The analyst stated “We recently surveyed consumers in some key Western European markets, and 35% of them said they plan to keep their current phone for longer than their previous one. Only 13% told us they will change their phone faster than in the past.” In addition, increasingly steep prices of high-end phones are proving detrimental to sales. “The psychological threshold of $1,000 seems to have prompted some consumers to re-evaluate whether they really need to replace their phone as quickly as they have done in the past”.

On sales of second-hand phones are enjoying a surge in demand, especially as software upgrades and much lower prices than those of new flagship smartphones make refurbished devices attractive to more and more people. In addition, CCS Insight expects 220 million 5G phones will be sold in 2020, rising to 930 million in 2023 to account for almost half of all mobile phone sales.

A weakened Chinese economy, along with macroeconomic and political uncertainty in other major markets are also cited for the global decline.