Saudi Arabia smartphone sales cross pre-pandemic levels

Saudi Arabia’s annual smartphone sales grew 49% YoY in 2021 to cross the pre-pandemic level of 2019, according to Counterpoint Research’s Global Monthly Handset Sales Tracker. Post-COVID-19 recovery and pent-up demand were the key growth drivers.

After a difficult 2020 that saw high COVID-19 rates and a struggling economy, the smartphone market benefitted from the overall economic growth in 2021, which was driven by high oil exports, rising employment and falling inflation.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Analyst Yang Wang said, “Saudi Arabia’s smartphone market benefitted from improving consumer demand due to a recovering economy and an increased pace of digitalization, partly induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the market has gradually adjusted to the statutory 15% VAT increase from June 2020, which had dampened sales in 2020. Huawei’s exit threatened to hit growth in 2021, but Chinese brands like vivo, Infinix and Xiaomi were not only quick to step up, they also grew to increase the share of Chinese brands to 41% in 2021, compared to 29% in 2020.”