The atmosphere was gloomy at the Mobile World Congress, which has just closed its doors in Barcelona. Smartphone sales fell sharply last year, returning to their 2014 level.
And in Switzerland, too, the consumer climate is at half mast, because consumers are gradually changing their habits.
“I think it is in our interest to have objects that we keep longer, it will be more favorable for our wallet”, confides a passer-by from Zurich on Friday in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS. “It’s good for the environment. Rather than throwing it away, I keep it for two or three years,” said a young woman.
Better smartphones less often
All brands are down, but the two world leaders, Samsung and Apple, are suffering much less than their Chinese competitors. “There is a trend for more high-end models,” explains Dario Casari, director of Samsung Switzerland. “People buy better, better phones and change them less often, every 27 months on average.”
This development is confirmed by the operator Salt. “We are seeing a fairly clear trend with a share of sales without a mobile phone, what we call ‘SIM only’ subscriptions, on the increase”, underlines general manager Franck Bernard. “We see a lot more customers moving towards a subscription without a phone.”
Services rather than sales
Mobile telephony players such as Mobilezone, the largest independent reseller in Switzerland, are now relying more on services for their growth than on the sole sale of smartphones.
“The devices have become of better quality. Before, for example, we had frequent problems with sealing, that almost never happens anymore”, explains the managing director for Switzerland Roger Wassmer. “And the ability to innovate has waned, the customer keeps their phone longer.”
The main innovation presented in Barcelona, precisely, is a phone with a drop-down screen. But it will probably not help boost sales this year.
Nicolas Rossé/oang