The rise of Nokia phones sales on the US market in Q3 2023 is weird, but expected
The US market is typically dominated by big brands that introduce their best and most valuable devices. However, the sales results for Q3 2023 reported by Counterpoint Research reveal that brands like TCL, Google, and Samsung experienced a steep decline in smartphone shipments in the US compared to the same period in 2023. Apple followed this trend, but its decline was more modest.
There’s a significant surprise in the US market that makes it rather unusual. While one would expect the sales of iPhones and top Samsung models to be increasing, the opposite is happening. Only two brands, Motorola and HMD’s Nokia, managed to ship more phones despite a decrease in apparent consumer demand. This is indeed surprising.
In the American market, there has been a remarkable 17% increase in sales. The reason behind this is the low-end devices, which were originally intended for low-margin markets like India and Pakistan. However, if you examine the latest models launched in the US (G310; C300 4G), you’ll notice that the hardware specifications for that specific market aren’t bad, and the balance between quality and price is quite favorable.
Additionally, as American society becomes increasingly stratified, it has had a significant impact on the sales of affordable mobile phones. HMD certainly deserves credit for this success, especially since they invested considerably in that market, not only by launching phones with better hardware specifications but also by creating enticing deals, offers, and promotional activities for users through operators and directly on their website. Some might even say that HMD had more luck than wisdom.
