Local smartphone market up 40 pct in H1; average selling price 200 euro per device (survey)

The local smartphone market increased by approximately 40 percent in H1 2018 from the same period of 2017, with smartphones selling for an average price of EUR 200-plus, shows a specialist survey by Avenir Telecom released on Thursday. 

"Customers began seeking higher-value phones, showing a preference for the manufacturers' flagship products. The operators' offers helped tip the scales in making the purchase decision, as did the retailers' aggressive offline and online promotions. Apart from the change in customer behavior, another driver for the evolution of the smartphone market was the overall growth in consumption, as well as the change in the smartphone makers' strategy, as they released more mid-to-high-range phones, thus shifting the customers' attention to these smartphone categories," shows the cited survey. 

According to the cited source, in H1 smartphones sold in Romania for an average price of over 200 euro, up 13 pct from the figure recorded a year ago. The local smartphone market also increased about 40 percent in the reporting period. 

The specialist survey reveals that between January - June 2018, Romanians sought mainly smartphones in the mid-to-high-range, with longer battery life. 

The development of the smartphone market was also supported by telecom operators, which gave customers the possibility to purchase smartphones with unlimited 4G data plans for prices starting as low as 5 euro / month. 

Avenir Telecom is one of the leading distributors of mobile phones and telecommunication services in Romania and the local subsidiary of the French group Avenir Telecom SA (AVT: PAR) - manufacturer and distributor of Energizer phones and accessories.