Huawei technologies has emerged as the big winner in the Chinese smartphone market for the recently concluded mid-year 618 shopping festival with the largest sales increases and the smallest discounts, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research.
According to Counterpoint, Huawei’s sales rose 42.4 percent during the one-month 618 sales period that started on May 20. This increase was attributed to continued strong demand for the company’s latest devices, including the Mate 60 and Pura 70 series that run on Chinese-made chips. The company also offered the smallest price discounts versus major rivals, Counterpoint said.
Apple has been able to defend its position vis-à-vis Huawei by offering it biggest discounts ever for iPhones in China, which allowed sales to increase 2.7 percent year-over-year amid increasing competition in the premium segment. Counterpoint figures place Apple as the second best seller by sales volume for the period, behind Vivo and ahead of Honor, Xiaomi and Huawei.
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The 618 Festival is next the biggest shopping season in China Bachelor’s Day. Amid a sluggish economy, ecommerce operators tried to attract more consumers this year by canceling the traditional pre-sale phase and extending the promotional period, which ran until June 20.
According to Counterpoint, total smartphone sales volume grew 6.8 percent over the 32-day period compared to the same period in 2023. The sales performance indicates a warming of demand, Counterpoint said, adding that it expects low-single-digit year-on-year growth for the Chinese smartphone market this year.
Estimates from TechInsights are more pessimistic. It reported a 2 percent decline in smartphone sales volume to 13.1 million units during the 618 festival. It expects the market to remain stable at 62.3 billion yuan (US$8.6 billion) this year.
The slower growth of online shopping and the rapid rise of live-streaming e-commerce have made traditional sales campaigns associated with shopping festivals less attractive to consumers, TechInsights analyst Peng Peng wrote in a report.
“Escalated concerns about the downturn in China’s economy,” including in the property and labor markets, are also holding back consumer spending, Peng added.
Although Huawei saw the biggest revenue growth, Apple remained king in terms of sales volume and value, according to TechInsights.
Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max proved to be the most popular models not only in the 6,000 yuan price range, but also in all segments on the e-commerce platform JD.com. It’s the latest indication that Apple is moving on dominance in the Chinese premium smartphone marketwrote Peng.
Huawei then came third in terms of sales value Xiaomiand is growing as a major challenger in the high-end market, according to data from TechInsights.
China’s major e-commerce platforms saw this The gross trade value is growing by 13.6 percent year after year during the 618 shopping festival, according to research agency Analysys. However, companies have largely stopped publishing their own sales figures for major shopping festivals.
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