According to marketing research firm IDC, global mobile phone shipments fell 15.8 percent to 244 million units in the first quarter compared to 290 million in the same quarter last year. While first quarter sales are usually lower following the holiday quarter, weak user demand and lack of credit for merchants effected the supply chain more than last year.
Shipments to North America started higher than the year ago period but were met with slow subscriber growth. Latin America and Western Europe saw lowered demand. China and India had a brighter quarter, but increasing interest in low-end handsets will continue to challenge company profit margins. Research firm Strategy Analytics stated that the decline is the fastest rate in the industry's 27-year history.
Still, smartphones shipments stayed resilient, growing 4 percent in the quarter worldwide, IDC stated. Apple's iPhone more than doubled its volumes year-over-year.
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