CHART: Vietnam's Smartphone Market Declined 46% in Q1 2023

Vietnam's smartphone market faced a challenging period in the first quarter of 2023, as highlighted by a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC). The market experienced a 5% quarter-over-quarter decline and a significant 46% year-on-year decrease, shipping only a total of 2.4 million units. This was due to slowing consumer demand amid an economic crunch in the region.

Another contributing factor to the decline in smartphone sales was the diminishing use of instalment plans to buy smartphones, which had become a common trend and saw rapid growth over the past few years, started to drop under higher interest rates and lower maximum limits.

Among the top vendors in the region, Samsung emerged as the leader, capturing the largest share of the overall smartphone shipment. Oppo, Apple, Xiaomi and Oppo followed behind respectively, collectively accounting for over 95% of the market.

Remarkably, Apple was the only vendor that bucked the meteoric slump in shipment volume in the region, with a 25% increase YoY. In contrast, Xiaomi faced the most significant decline YoY, with shipments dropping from 967,000 units in Q1 2022 to only 308,000 units in Q1 2023, representing a substantial 68% decrease.