Study: Philippines Fastest Growing Smartphone Sales Market in Emerging Asia

In emerging Southeast Asian markets where feature phones still dominate, Philippines has sold close to 1.7 million units of smartphones (as of May) to become one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the region, according to a report from Gfk released in July.

Since January, 5.5 million mobile phones worth US$600 million have been sold. Smartphone sales comprised 30 percent in volume and contributed 66 percent in value.

In May, smartphone sales hit its peak with one in every three mobile phones sold in the country a smartphone. Its value contribution to overall mobile phone market also shot up to more than 70 percent.

While basic feature phones continue to remain popular, the smartphone segment with 408 percent spike in demand has been stirring up the industry, said Benny Villanueva, general manager of GfK Philippines.

The rising demand of smartphones is triggered by manufacturers offering more affordable smartphones and retailers offering aggressive promotion schemes such as zero percent interest programs of up to 24 months, he explained.

Compared to the previous year, the average price of smartphones in Philippines has dropped 23 percent from US $317 to US $244 this year.

This guest post is contributed by Fan Shek, editorial intern at ClickZ Asia.