Even as more Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) continue to enter the Nigeria’s saturated smartphone market, fresh report by Nigeria Mobile Report released by Jumia has shown serious stress and eventual drop in average price of smartphones by 19 per cent in two years.
The Jumia report placed the average price to $95, an indication that glut of affordable phones from China into the Nigerian market pressured down target prices of OEMs products.
However, industry experts who reviewed Jumia’s report argued that apart from the unchecked influx China smartphones that may not have passed the official Type Approvals supposed to come from the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the impacts of grey market and mainly surge in London refurbished smartphones did the major havoc within the time under review.
Recall that in 2016, the average price of smartphone in the country was $117 while in 2016, the price was estimated at $216.
Jumia report added that “The average price of smartphones continues on a downward trajectory, as it dipped to $95 in 2018, from US$ 117 in 2016, and US$ 216 in 2014,” the mobile report said.
“This development is laudable as again, the major driver of this trend is attributed to the influx of Asian brands specifically targeted for the Nigerian market.
“Asian brands have consistently enjoyed massive patronage because of their Africa-specific strategy of introducing lower price point smartphones into the Nigerian market.”
However, the top five phones brands that gathered the patronage of Nigerians, according to the report, are Fero Mobile, Samsung, Nokia, Infinix and Tecno.
Whereas Jumia said Nokia emerged among the top five in 2016 due to its previous record of durability in the country, last year, it named Fero, Samsung, Nokia, Infinix, and Tecno remaining the customers’ favourites and the top selling mobile brands on Jumia within the period.
