Apple Took Half of Smartphone Sales in China’s 6.18 E-Commerce Festival

According to new research from Strategy Analytics, 14 million smartphones were sold during the “6.18” online shopping festival in China this year, down 25% year-on-year. Apple solidified its leadership at the expense of various Chinese brands. Xiaomi and Honor followed to rank in the top three spots.

Strategy Analytics believes that COVID-related disruptions and economic headwinds caused the mixed performance. The online sales price for smartphones grew to over 4,300 yuan ($660) this year thanks to the greater mix of higher-priced iPhones, up 13% year-on-year. However, total smartphone online sales revenue still posted a 16% annual decline with 62.6 billion yuan.

Apple solidified its market leadership with impressive performance during this year’s 6.18 festival. Apple outperformed the market selling nearly 7 million iPhones, modestly down 4% year-on-year. Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple generated revenue of 41.5 billion yuan, with a full retail price of over 6,300 yuan. Apple ranked top by revenue share across all major platforms, such as JD.com, TMall and Pinduoduo, and others.

Xiaomi and Honor ranked in the top three list, followed by vivo and OPPO. Strategy Analytics estimates that Xiaomi seized a 30% volume share, slightly down from 32% one year ago. Honor captured a 10% volume share, growing from 6% in 2021. Vivo and OPPO ranked the top five list with 6% and 4% volume shares respectively.

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In terms of sales platforms, JD.com remains on top. Strategy Analytics estimates that roughly 49% of smartphones were sold through JD.com during the 6.18 online festival this year, followed by TMall and Taobao. However, the leadership and dominance of traditional e-retailers have been dented by the rise of livestreaming platforms, such as Douyin and Kuaishou. Strategy Analytics estimates that these two platforms contributed 8% and 6% of smartphone online sales volume this year during 6.18, up from 3% and 2% last year.