Smartphone sales have bounced back in Q3 2020 in spite of the mark left on the global economy by the coronavirus, and Samsung even managed to improve its market share in Europe compared to Q3 2019. Huawei's woes meant higher smartphone sales for Samsung across the Old Continent and the company had a leading market share of 37.1% in the third quarter.
Market research firm IDC reveals that in Western Europe alone, Samsung's Q3 market share topped 35.6% 2020, down 0.2% from a year ago. However, this decrease was offset by success in other parts of Europe. The company had shipped 10.3 million smartphones in Western Europe, and a total of 29.6 million smartphones across the entire EMEA region, retaining the title of EMEA's largest smartphone vendor.
Samsung had a strong quarter in the Philippines
Samsung also had a fairly strong third quarter in the Philippines according to another IDC report that reveals a quarterly growth of 42%. However, the company's market share in the Philippines did shrink by 19.5% year-on-year.
The company was able to increase its quarterly market share through its strategy of releasing multiple smartphone models at varying price points. Some of the more successful models were the Galaxy A01 Core and the Galaxy A11 in the budget category, while customers looking for a flagship solution have gravitated towards the Galaxy Note 20.
As for the fourth quarter of the year, IDC estimates that smartphone shipments could increase despite the coronavirus restrictions that were recently set in place again in some European countries. The lower sales that may result from lockdowns could be offset by strong holiday season sales and 5G growth.
