Mobile TeleSystems : The Russian Smart Device Market in Q1 2021

MOSCOW, Russia - In the first quarter of 2021 smartphone sales in Russia were up around 27% year-over-year to reach more than 150 billion rubles, according to an MTS analysis of overall market trends in the country. That growth was achieved despite an 11% year-over-year decline in unit sales to some 6.4 million devices sold, which was more than offset by a significant increase in average ticket size. MTS estimates the average device purchased in 1Q21 sold for around 24,000 rubles - up more than 40% versus the year-ago quarter.

That trend reflects a longer-term shift in consumer preference toward more premium devices and longer upgrade cycles, with a potential additional impact from pricing adjustments amid FX volatility in 2020. According to MTS analysts, unit sales of smartphones priced above 50,000 rubles increased nearly 60% year-over-year in Q1 2021, while at the bottom end of the market sales of devices priced under 10,000 rubles declined by more than a third in unit terms.

The ongoing realignment toward the premium segment has also been facilitated by attractive trade-in and financing offers, which can remove some of the obstacles customers face in making a full-price cash transaction. In addition, as consumers allocate more of their wallet to expensive devices they are also spending more time making a purchasing decision. MTS's Big Data team estimates that in Q1 2021 internet-savvy consumers spent on average 40% more time researching and shopping before completing a purchase than they had just a year ago.

At the brand level, MTS's analysis indicates Apple emerged as a key winner in the first three months of 2021, capturing some 46% market share in ruble terms, followed by Samsung (29%) and Xiaomi (12%). In addition, the iPhone 11 was recognized as the most sold smartphone in Q1 - the first Apple device to take the #1 spot in MTS's quarterly tracking since the iPhone SE in 2017. That likely reflected the combination of the iPhone 11's still-competitive feature set with its more affordable pricing following the launch of the iPhone 12.

Across all models, Samsung led the market in terms of number of devices sold, standing at 33% unit share. This represented an impressive year-over-year increase of 10 p.p. as the Korean company diversified its product offerings to cater to a broader variety of consumer segments.

Besides the iPhone 11, the top-5 most popular smartphone models sold in Q1 2021 were the Xiaomi Redmi 9A followed by the Samsung Galaxy A12, Galaxy A01 Core, and Galaxy A12, according to MTS analysts.