Sri Lanka’s market shipped 365 thousand units, with 218% YoY growth, showing a triple-digit growth trend for 5 consecutive quarters, market intelligence provider, the International Data Corporation (IDC) said.
The quarter had been a celebration time for Sinhalese New Year, Vesak Poya, and Poson, in which new brands and new models were launched.
According to the IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, South Asia’s (excluding India) overall smartphone market shipped 2.9 million units in 2Q24, with 39.5% growth YoY (year-over-year), continuing a strong double-digit YoY growth from 1Q24.
“Sri Lanka is expected to continue the growth momentum in 3Q24, with the expansion of Chinese brands in Sri Lanka through channel partnerships,” says Anjney Bhardwaj, Senior Market Analyst, Mobile Phones, IDC India.
With a 100% acquisition of Airtel and 74% acquisition of Sri Lankan Telecom, Dialog Axiata has become the largest telco in Sri Lanka and expanding its 5G coverage as well as offering affordable 5G plans. 5G smartphone shipment accounted for 25% of the total smartphones in 2Q24.
The market continued to be dominated by retail channels with a 98% share as consumers prefer to see the device before purchase, which is made easier by easy accessibility in multi-brand outlets and large chain store expansion by national distributors, particularly in Sri Lanka.
Honor led the market with a 21% market share in Sri Lanka, owing to X7b as the highest-shipped model in the market. ZTE tied with Samsung for the second position. ZTE’s Blade A34, along with V60 and Neo 2 were its top-selling models while Samsung’s Galaxy A05 led its overall stock.