Shenzhen has witnessed a surge in sales of electronic products such as mobile phones and computers, especially during the just concluded May Day holiday, reflecting the local economy’s great potential and resilience, a Shenzhen Special Zone Daily report said yesterday.
Many electronic products shops across the city were delighted to see their sales pick up during the holiday, thanks to government consumption subsidies and the improving pandemic situation, the report said.
To boost consumption, starting from May 1, the city has been providing 100 million yuan (US$14.9 million) in subsidies for consumer electronics and household appliance purchases.
As many residents stayed put in Shenzhen for the holiday and got their subsidies, digital product sales of Shenzhen Century Huateng Information Technology Co. Ltd., which has 60 outlets across the city, sold 30% more products during the holiday than the same period last year, according to its vice manager Lyu Ming.
The government’s subsidy package especially stimulated the sales of high-end mobile phones like the Honor series, whose sales made up 60% of the company’s total, he said.
“The Magic4 Pro was sold at 5,999 yuan, and with 900 yuan of government subsidies, the allowance offered by telecom operators and the subsidy program for mobile phone replacement provided by stores, buyers can barely spend money on a new phone,” he said.
Shenzhen’s holiday consumer spending between April 30 and May 3 exceeded 23 billion yuan, according to the city’s commerce bureau.
Sales of consumer electronics and household appliances went up by 32% year on year, with the overall customer traffic of the city’s retail stores rising by 41% over 2021.
Since the end of March, domestic phone brands such as Honor, Huawei and Xiaomi have seen unexpected surge in sales of their latest high-end versions like Magic4 series and Huawei foldable series across the country despite COVID headwinds and consumption decline.
In the first quarter (Q1) of this year, China’s smartphone sales slid 18% year on year to 75.6 million units, the Daily said.
Honor posted the fastest growth in China’s smartphone market in Q1, with 15 million units, taking up 20% of the market share. It was followed by domestic smartphone maker Oppo with a market shipment of 13.9 million units. Apple came in third, while Vivo and Xiaomi were the fourth and fifth-largest sellers with 12.2 million and 10.6 million units, respectively.
The recovery of the consumer electronics market and increase in the sales of homegrown smartphones in Shenzhen was attributed to the efforts made by enterprises in maintaining stability of the supply chain, increasing input in R&D and innovation, and expanding sales channels, the Daily said.