SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple lost more ground in the shrinking smartphone market last quarter, with a sales tracker saying the tech giant was pushed off the top-three seller list by a Chinese rival.
Apple fell to fourth place in global smartphone sales, shipping 35.3 million iPhones in the second quarter compared to the 36.2 million units shipped by Oppo, according to a report from IHS Markit this week.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is expected to launch by September the successors to its iPhone XS and XR models from 2018 with what may be called the iPhone 11 or XI.
South Korean consumer electronics titan Samsung remained in first place with 23 percent of the market, having shipped 75.1 million smartphones, China's Huawei shipped 58.7 million smartphones to claim 18 percent of the market, IHS Markit calculated.
"Apple continues to face challenges in terms of unit shipments -- a trend that is unlikely to be fixed soon," IHS smartphone research and analysis director Jusy Hong said in an online post.
While California-based Apple has been aggressively promoting iPhones, current-generation smartphones have "super-premium" prices while models a few years old are still costly compared to bargain Android-powered handsets, the analyst reasoned.
Other smartphone market trackers such as Counterpoint Research and International Data Corporation concluded that while iPhone shipments sank in the second quarter, Apple remained in third place what it came to global shipments.
Huawei, meanwhile, saw smartphone shipments rise despite the overall market contracting and US-China trade tensions, market trackers reported.
CHINESE RIVALS RISING
Huawei -- considered the world leader in superfast fifth-generation, or 5G, equipment and the world's number two smartphone producer -- has been blacklisted by US President Donald Trump amid suspicions it provides a backdoor for Chinese intelligence services. The company denies those charges.
"The effect of the ban did not translate into falling shipments during this quarter, which will not be the case in the future," Counterpoint associate research director Tarun Pathak said in the firm's market report.
"In the coming quarters, Huawei is likely to be aggressive in its home market and register some growth there, but it will not be enough to offset for the decline in its overseas shipments."
The combined global smartphone market share of Chinese firms Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Realme reached a new high of 42 percent in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint.
"These brands have been aggressively expanding outside China and achieving growth offsetting the saturation in their home market," said Counterpoint research analyst Varun Mishra.
"Their strategies and product portfolios are more aligned to the local needs and preferences, which is one of their key strengths."
Apple has been striving to wean itself off its reliance on iPhone sales with a focus on services, digital content and related gadgets.
In the just-ended quarter, Apple for the first time took in less than half its revenue from the iPhone, the longtime cash and profit driver for the company.
Apple managed to grow its overall revenues, albeit by a modest one percent, to $53.8 billion, even as iPhone revenues plunged nearly 12 percent in the April-June period.
The company delivered strong growth from digital content and services including Apply Pay and Apple Music, along with wearables and accessories like the Apple Watch and Air Pods.
Apple has stopped reporting iPhone unit sales, but chief executive Tim Cook said during an earnings call that there was a "strong customer response" to iPhone promotions and financing programs.
Apple saw its sales improve in the crucial China market, which included a double-digit increase in services revenue driven by strong growth in the App Store there, according to the company.
The sale of iPhones in that country was boosted by factors including pricing moves by Apple, and trade-in and financing programs, Cook said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - The photo op with Santa Claus has long been a holiday mainstay for American children. But this year, shopping malls in several states are scheduling glamour shots for man's best friend.
As the Christmas shopping season kicks into high gear on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, portraits of St. Nick with a family's beloved dog are just one way retailers are looking to attract customers in the face of exploding e-commerce.
Brick-and-mortar stores have expanded their bag of tricks -- and gotten increasingly bold -- as they look to lure shoppers who might otherwise be happy to stay on the couch and pick up gifts while still in their pajamas.
The flagship Bloomingdale's store in New York has held yoga classes, and Nordstrom has displayed Tesla cars near the section for men's suits.
A number of shops now ply visitors with food and drink.
For the holiday shopping season, malls are hosting gingerbread decorating sessions, visits from the Grinch -- Dr. Seuss's beloved Christmas villain-turned-softie -- and ugly Christmas sweater nights.
Temporary ice skating rinks and magical winter decor are also being used to draw customers intent on an in-person holiday experience.
Wal-Mart Stores plans to throw more than 20,000 "holiday parties" at which children can pose for "selfies with Santa."
"All of these retailers are desperate to get people into their stores," said analyst Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, who added a note of caution about all the promotions.
"Whether they work or not is open to debate."
THE DRAW OF THE INTERNET
Most experts predict a solid holiday shopping season, with IHS Markit projecting overall sales growth of 4.2 percent to about $685 billion, said Chris Christopher, executive director at IHS.
Online sales are expected to account for 18.3 percent of holiday sales this year, up from 16.8 percent last year, according to IHS.
Surveys show that creating a festive holiday atmosphere is one way to prompt consumers to pocket their smartphones for a few hours and hit the mall.
About a third of consumers said they enjoyed holiday shopping as a family tradition and 23 percent said they most enjoy holiday decorations, said a National Retail Federation survey.
Tourist Karen Boyd, who was visiting New York this week from Palo Alto, California, said she expects to do half of her shopping online and half of it in stores this year.
"The years I've done 100 percent online, it doesn’t feel like you've done your holiday shopping!" she said near Saks Fifth Avenue's famed holiday window display as Christmas carols played in the background.
NEW APPS AND CURBSIDE DELIVERY
As e-commerce has grabbed bigger market share, chains like Target and Gap have invested heavily in smartphone apps and sophisticated "big data" programs to target consumers and price most effectively.
Upscale department store Nordstrom is offering 24-hour curbside pickup at a handful of stores for the final nine days of the shopping season.
"Customers increasingly want to shop where, how and when they choose, and 24/7 Curbside Pickup is one service we're offering to support their experience," said Shea Jensen, senior vice president of customer experience at Nordstrom.
Department store Kohl's is taking to heart a common motto -- if you can't beat them, join them.
Kohl's will accept returns of goods bought on Amazon at its stores in Chicago and Los Angeles -- and will pack and ship the unpackaged items back to the online behemoth at no charge.
The hope is that Amazon shoppers will linger and buy a few items from Kohl's.
"We have a really very simple, straightforward objective here, and that is driving traffic is the number one priority we have as a company," chief executive Kevin Mansell said earlier this month.
HEART OF THE PROBLEM?
For Saunders, while doggie pics with Santa might draw pet lovers to stores, other initiatives are less inviting. And for him, the real issue is on the product side.
"A lot of these retailers aren't delivering what people want," he said.
David Simon, chief executive of the mall giant Simon Property Group, said stores should shake up their approach to customer service, highlighting Apple's attentiveness to customers and sleek store design.
"I think if they did that in a more comprehensive way through checkouts service, styling . . . they would see a pickup in their in-store sales," Simon said on a recent conference call.
Shopper Melin Ghotan said "bad customer service" had marred her recent purchase at a video game store -- a clerk balked when the Los Angeles mother requested a second shopping bag for the items.
"I'd have rather bought it online," she said as she walked near New York's lamdmark Rockefeller Center.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
