Latin American smartphone shipments recovered in the second quarter of 2021, up 42% year-on-year

According to the latest market monitoring report from Counterpoint Research, smartphone shipments in Latin America increased by 41.8% year-on-year but decreased by 6.5% month-on-month in the second quarter of 2021. The demand for smartphones in the region has grown steadily, but the growth in quantity is still affected by chip shortages and tight production capacity.

It is reported that Latin America is still suffering from the impact of COVID-19, and only a few countries have been able to fully vaccinate more than half of their population. As a result, most countries are experiencing different degrees and forms of lockdown, leading to economic slowdown. This in turn affects the purchase ASP (average selling price) rather than the replacement rate.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Tina Lu, Lead Analyst, said: “Latin American countries grew or declined at different rates during the quarter. Brazil was one of the countries most affected by component shortages due to its limited number of brands. Meanwhile, Mexico saw smartphone shipments grow from the previous quarter due to fierce competition from new entrants, which further expanded the addressable market size of the region’s second largest market.”

Figure 2 shows the market share of smartphone shipments in LATAM, Q2 2021

Tina Lu added: "Most brands saw double-digit or even triple-digit year-on-year sales growth. Samsung was the most affected due to restrictions on its factories in Vietnam. There were also supply issues in the Brazilian manufacturing industry. However, retailers and operators accumulated some inventory, which mitigated the decline in wholesale volumes, but shipments were severely affected. Despite this, Samsung remained the leading brand in Latin America, excluding Mexico and Peru."