The industry expects sales to again reach around 25 million units, as in the previous year, the industry association gfu reported in frankfurt on monday. In 2015, the number of smartphones had already grown by only 4 percent, although the average price was on the rise.
On average, consumers spent 392 euros per smartphone, a good 7 percent more than in the previous year, the association reports from its market analysis.
Sales in this segment climbed by 11.4 percent in 2015 to a good 9.8 billion euros. A price collapse due to cheap asian competition is not yet foreseeable, explained gfu chairman hans-joachim kamp. Smartphones remained a status symbol.
Overall sales of consumer electronics remained stable in 2015 compared to the previous year thanks to a strong fourth quarter. Classic consumer electronics recorded a decline of 5.3 percent. The decline was more severe than expected, said kamp. Accordingly, a total sales volume of 27.4 billion euros was achieved.
The individual segments performed very differently. The market for telecommunications products for private use grew by 10.1 percent to 10.2 billion euros. It is thus the rough segment of the total sales volume of the industry. For the current year, the industry expects the market to stabilize again, said kamp. Due to the upcoming european soccer championships, TV equipment manufacturers in particular are expecting business to pick up again.