Reality sets in for Huawei following US ban
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The reality is starting to set in for Huawei following an executive order from US President Donald Trump that essentially bans the Chinese giant tech group from forming or continuing working relationships with American companies including chip makers as well as Google, which develops the omnipotent Android mobile OS.
Fewer online shopper clicks, pessimistic sales forecasts…
Huawei handsets are already generating fewer clicks from online shoppers since the ban took effect as per to PriceSpy, a product comparison site that attracts an average of 14 million visitors per month. “Over the last four days, Huawei handsets have slumped in popularity — receiving almost half as many clicks as they did last week in the UK and 26% less on the global stage,” PriceSpy noted.
Smartphone shipments could decrease between 4% and 24% in 2019 if the ban lingers, according to Fubon Research and Strategy Analytics. “Huawei may be wiped out of the Western European smartphone market next year if it loses access to Google,” says Linda Sui, director of wireless smartphone strategies at Strategy Analytics. She believes Huawei handset shipments could drop by another 23% next year but thinks the company could survive given the humongous size of the Chinese market.
Retailers shun phone trade-ins
Mobile phone retailers in some Asian countries are refusing to accept Huawei devices for trade-ins, as users are looking to get rid of their devices due to potential, long-term service disruptions. Some customers in Singapore and the Philippines have rushed to sell their Huawei phones, according to retailers and online marketplace data. But as you can expect, there are few takers. “If we buy something that is useless, how are we going to sell it?,” says Dylan On, a salesman at Wanying Pte Ltd, a Singapore retail and repair shop.
Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, ecommerce marketplace musicMagpie, which gets thousands of devices traded-in daily, stated it experienced an increase in Huawei trade-ins by 154% on May 20. Trade-ins peaked at 1pm local time, when the site had more Huawei devices traded-in than any other phone brand.
Of course, it’s still early in the game, and further developments can happen very quickly.
