Smartphone sales hit 1.82m in 2012

Smartphone sales in Nigeria more than doubled in 2012, data obtained by BusinessDay has shown. Nigerians spent an average of N92 billion buying 1.82 million smart phones in 2012, according to data obtained from GfK Retail and Technology Nigeria.

These figures, according analysts, reinforce earlier studies which showed that Nigeria leads its counterparts on the continent in smartphone penetration. Data available for the comparable period of December 2011 and December 2012 indicate that smartphone sales more than quadrupled year-on-year.

“Over 100 million Nigerians do not have access to the internet. Many Nigerians are not going to be able to afford a $500 laptop. But with an affordable smartphone with a quality screen, software and user experience, we believe that the smartphone will be the window to the world for many Nigerians”, Alpesh Patel, chief executive officer, Mi-Fone, a pan- African phone maker told BusinessDay in an interview.

Speaking in the same vein, Kenneth Doghudje, managing director, Gfk RT Nigeria Limited, said, “Smartphones are a highly innovative segment embraced by the Nigerian consumer who constantly desires to acquire the latest technologies in the market.”

Nigeria has an internet penetration rate of around 45 percent, with most people surfing the internet on their smartphones, while on the move. This trend is expected to continue,” Doghudje explained.

The average cost of a smart phone is put at $300 to $360 (N48, 000 to N58, 000). This is within the affordable range for Nigeria’s rising middle class, analysts say.

Earlier data obtained by BusinessDay Research from GfK, shows an average of 21.5 million handsets were sold in Nigeria in 2012. The 1.82 million smartphones make up an average of 8.47 percent of total new phone sales in 2012.

The 21.5 million sales figures exclude sales of “refurbished and used handsets also imported into Nigeria”.

Industry analyst told BusinessDay at the weekend that the steady reduction in prices would further deepen smartphone penetration as cost seems to be a huge barrier to device acquisition in Nigeria.

“Prices of smartphones are likely to decline. The sub-$100 smartphone is steadily becoming a reality. Low-end smartphones are increasingly available and these types of phones will likely grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent over the coming years”, James Rutherford of Nokia Corporation said.

Besides, many Nigerians carry more than one phone or carry a dual SIM phone, the earlier report showed.

“Dual SIM phones made up 58 percent of all new phones, or two out of every three phones sold in the Nigerian market. This translates to an average of over one million dual SIM handsets sold in the Nigerian market in a year”. The dominance of the dual SIMs has been linked to the high incidence of poor network quality which has compelled most Nigerians to use more than one network provider for their phone services. But more interestingly, triple SIM phones are also beginning to make an inroad into the Nigerian market as well, with the market showing immense potential for growth of phones with more than one SIM, states the industry report.

Smart phones carrying dual SIMs have also made an entrance into the Nigerian phone market, though they are less than 18 months into the market. The report notes that dual SIM phones were first invented by the Chinese, but have recently been adopted by the major phone manufacturers, as they see its wide acceptance in the market. “These trends are expected to continue in 2013 as most subscribers continue wanting to enjoy excellent service delivery and lower tariffs by using the different networks”.

 

ANTHONY OSAE-BROWN

& BEN UZOR JR