Tablet sales decline stagnates in Brazil
The decline seen in the Brazilian tablet market is slowing after two years of double-digit sales decreases, according to analyst firm IDC.
Tablets sales dropped by 8 percent in the first quarter of 2017 in relation to the same period last year, with 770,000 units sold. Revenue dropped 28 percent to R$370 million ($114 million).
After enjoying a huge popularity wave in Brazil, tablet shipments have seen a massive nosedive globally of late in the country, following global trends.
In 2016, the number of tablets sold in Q1 dropped 53 percent to 836,000 units sold and in 2015, first quarter sales dropped 20 percent to 1,7 million tablet shipments.
"Over the last two years, the tablet market has fallen mainly due to the rise in the dollar, the growth of smartphones with larger screens and the departure of many manufacturers from the country," says IDC Brazil market analyst Wellington La Falce.
"In the first quarter of this year, we noticed a more stabilized market, with companies catering for the demand that exists in the kids segment, for example, says La False, adding that the revenue fall is due to the fact that manufacturers have changed their strategy to keep afloat and that price tags for the first quarter are usually lower.
According to the analyst, some 3.7 million devices should be sold in total during 2017, so a 7 percent drop on 2016 numbers.
"The trend is for the market to stabilize and return to a positive performance in the second half of the year with important dates for the segment such as Children's Day, Black Friday and Christmas," IDC's La Falce points out.