Price Tags and Preferences: Navigating Pakistan’s Smartphone Market

Pakistan has been suffering from extreme economic turmoil for the last couple of years. The smartphone industry has also seen a decline in the same time period, with the USD value reaching an all-time high. It led to an increase in the price of smartphones, which has severely impacted the purchasing power of the masses. Therefore, users who previously wanted to buy a flagship phone had to shift to midrange phones, and likewise, people who preferred to purchase midrange phones had to shift to the budget segment.

In this regard, we did some interesting research to see which price range phones were most sold in Pakistan in the last few quarters. It would enable you to get an idea of the purchasing power of people and which smartphone brands would have been the most preferred by them.

Methodology:

We categorized the price ranges in terms of dollar values and calculated the percentages on the basis of units sold in the last five quarters. The data will help us assess the shift in consumer smartphone preferences and the impact of economic factors.

$0-$100:

The second-most smartphones sold in the last five quarters came from this category. In the $0-$100 price range, the cumulative average was around 35% of the total smartphones sold in the market. Starting from Q2 of 2022, around 33.1% of the total purchases of smartphones came from this category. Similarly, in Q3 of 2022, it stood at 28.5%, while 31.2% of purchases were reported in Q4 of 2022. Simultaneously, it stood at 37.7% in Q1 of 2023, while 33.9% of sales were reported in Q2 of 2023.

Major Smartphone Brands Targeting this Price Range:

• Infinix
• Tecno 
• iTel 
• Xiaomi
• Dcode
• Realme

$100-$200:

The most smartphones sold in the last 5 quarters came from this category of price range. The cumulative average was around 58%. In the second quarter of 2022, this price range represented 45% of total smartphone sales. While still a significant portion, this percentage increased significantly in the subsequent quarters. By the third quarter of 2022, the $100-$200 price range accounted for a substantial 60.5% of total smartphone sales. This is a notable increase from the previous quarter, indicating a growing preference for phones in this range.

The dominance continued into the fourth quarter of 2022, with this price range making up 60.3% of total smartphone sales. It remained highly popular among consumers. In the first quarter of 2023, although the dominance of the $100-$200 range continued, the percentage dropped slightly to 54.4%. This may have been influenced by various economic factors. The trend of high sales in this price range picked up again in the second quarter of 2023, with the percentage reaching 60.9% of total smartphone sales. This suggests that the preference for smartphones in this range remained strong.

Major Smartphone Brands Targeting this Price Range:

• Xiaomi
• Samsung
• Infinix
• Tecno
• vivo
• Oppo 
• Realme

$200-$450:

This price range can only be afforded by a smaller chunk of the population. The cumulative sales for this price range stood at around 8% of the total smartphone sales. In Q2 of 2022, the price range covered 20% of the total smartphone sales. However, afterward, it witnessed a significant drop owing to the rise in PTA tax, rising inflation, and a few other factors. Moving forward, smartphone sales under this price range fell to 10.1% in Q3 of 2022, then dropped to 7.2% in Q4 of 2022, then fell to 6.2% in Q1 of 2023, and finally dropped to 4% in Q2 of 2023.

It shows that inflation in the last year or so has really affected the purchasing power of the people, as we have discussed earlier.

Major Smartphone Brands Targeting this Price Range:

• Xiaomi
• Samsung 
• Apple
• Pixel

$450+:

This price range is comprised of flagship phones, including the iPhone series, Samsung S series, Google Pixel series, etc. The taxes on this price range are also pretty high and go to a staggering PKR 175,000. Only around 2%–3% of the total smartphone sales in the quarter. It’s quite a meager number.

Major Smartphone Brands Targeting this Price Range:

• Apple
• Samsung
• Google Pixel
• OnePlus

Conclusion:

The data provides a clear picture of the smartphone market in Pakistan, where affordability and economic conditions are affecting consumer choices. The market is highly competitive, and smartphone brands need to adapt to fluctuating consumer preferences and economic circumstances to stay relevant and successful.

Also read:

Now Buy these Amazing Budget Smartphones Under PKR 30k after Price Reduction