Good news for two phone companies looking to step up some competition.
Kantar Worldpanel released European sales stats for phones last fiscal quarter (ending February 2014)., and both LG and Motorola saw gains.
Moto was practically absent from previous analyst reports, but following strong sales of their entry level Moto G handset, has climbed to 6% in less than six months. Lending further credence to the idea that the entry level phone market is primed for serious growth over the next couple years.
LG also saw some great gains moving the LG G2. LG was ahead of the curve with processor and battery tech at the end of last year, unseating the HTC One and GS4 as being the powerful “normal sized” phones in the Android ecosystem. That boundary pushing attitude paid off with LG becoming the fastest growing Android brand of last quarter.
The Moto and LG gains also helped secure Android as a whole positive growth over iOS and Windows Phone, maintaining Google’s top spot for phones. You can read the full report below.
Motorola back in the game with Moto G success
31/03/2014
The latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, for the three months to February 2014, shows a resurgent Motorola climbing from almost nothing to 6% of British sales in just six months. Its success has helped Android remain the top OS across Europe with 68.9% share. Apple holds second position with 19.0% share and Windows is third with 9.7%.
Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, comments: “Motorola was nowhere in Europe before the Moto G launched in November last year, but the new model has since boosted the manufacturer to 6% of British sales. It highlights the speed at which a quality budget phone can disrupt a market. The same pattern can be seen in France with Wiko, which has 8.3% share, and Xiaomi in China with 18.5%.”
The Moto G in Great Britain has attracted a very specific consumer profile. Almost half of owners are aged between 16 and 24, 83% are male and generally they come from lower income groups with 40% earning under £20,000.
Sunnebo continues: “Consumers are far more tech savvy than they were just a few years ago and the rising commoditisation of smartphones means we increasingly rely on online views and handset cost to drive our decision making. Some 40% of British consumers are heavily influenced by internet reviews when deciding which mobile to buy and 48% of Moto G sales were made online. With virtually no existing customers to sell to in Britain, the Moto G has stolen significant numbers of low-mid end customers from Samsung and Nokia Lumia.”
In the US, Android’s momentum has returned after iOS’ share peaked as a result of the release of the iPhone 5S and 5C models. Android’s share is up 3.9% compared to last year, with LG the fastest growing Android brand. LG’s share of the US market has now topped 8% making it the third largest manufacturer in sales. While LG’s sales over the past few years have been led by low to mid-end Optimus models, the high-end G2 is now dominating its sales.
Sunnebo comments: “The LG G2 marks a significant change in direction for LG, now aiming squarely towards the top end of the market. Customer recommendation figures for the past three months show the LG G2 has the highest rating of any new handset at 9.2 out of 10, followed by the iPhone 5S at 9.1 and Samsung Galaxy Note III at 9.0. User advocacy is hugely important in mobile and this is great news to help LG maintain its momentum. Selling phones is one thing, getting your buyers to help you sell even more is another.”
Smartphone % penetration in Great Britain stands at 70% in February, with 86% of devices sold in the past three months being smartphones.
*The big five European markets includes UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.