Samsung Dominated the European Smartphone Market in 2019
Samsung is a brand that has become synonymous with the smartphone in Europe. A recent report by the consultancy firm Kantar suggests that the Korean electronics manufacturer completely dominates the European market producing seven of the top-ten best-selling devices across the region in 2019.
Samsung’s recently revamped A-series devices top the best-selling lists with the Galaxy A50, Galaxy A40, and Galaxy A20e taking the top three spots. Apple’s iPhone XR sits at number five, just behind the Redmi Note 7 – which is produced by the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi. Despite aggressive expansion into the European markets by Chinese OEMs, this is the only showing in the top-ten for Xiaomi while their fellow countrymen Huawei fail to make the chart.
Further Reading: Chinese OEMs Make Inroads into Europe.
Mid-Range Devices
While premium devices have stolen the majority of headlines this year with several manufacturers pushing smartphone prices upwards of $2,000, it’s the mid-range devices that have captured the European market.
The cheapest device to make the top-ten is the Samsung Galaxy A10 which sits at number six in the list and retails for £139 (approx. $180) in the UK. Samsung is also responsible for the most expensive device to make the list with the Galaxy S10+ which retails for £899 (approx. $1,155) hitting number ten in the chart.
This perhaps demonstrates the maturity of the European market where consumers demand high-quality products but are unwilling to pay premium prices for specifications they don’t need or know will be available in a matter of months as standard on more mid-range devices.
Further Reading: Will Poor Trade-in Deals Kill The $2,000+ Smartphone?
It also shows the European market has much less emotional attachment to Apple devices than the United States where the iPhone currently enjoys a 55 percent share of the smartphone market. European consumers know that with an Android device they can get a lot more bang for their buck (or British pound or euro) plus access to a much more vibrant and app landscape – the very thing that makes smartphone technology so damn useful.
Further Reading: Android Smartphones – Bigger, Better, Smarter than Apple.
Capture the European Market
Samsung’s dominance of the European market is good news for Android app developers. They have perhaps done more than any other smartphone manufacturer to secure a solid foundation for the Android ecosystem. Once a device owner has invested (emotionally and potentially financially) into an ecosystem it becomes less likely they will go elsewhere looking for their apps. For app developers, this means they have the potential to nurture a relationship with their users over the lifespan of numerous devices (typically anywhere between 15 months and two-and-a-half years). This creates opportunities for great user engagement and increased customer lifetime value.
All of this doesn’t make it any easier to get your apps on a user’s device in the first place – particularly when a market is as disjointed as Europe with its diverse range of languages, cultures, and app marketplaces.
Digital Turbine works with global smartphone manufactures and regional mobile networks to help app developers target the right customer with the right app at the right time. If you want to target the UK market – that’s no problem. Spain, Italy or France – that’s easy. Germany or Austria – just pick up the phone and we can make it happen.
Pre-loading via Digital Turbine enables you to reach an audience at the moment of maximum engagement — the unboxing of a new device — while avoiding the complexities of the fragmented European app marketplace. Essentially Digital Turbine creates opportunities for app developers regardless of their size or location to partner with organizations, like Samsung, who own a significant and direct route to their audience.
Further Reading: Superstar Apps: What Are Native App Preloads and Why Do They Matter?
To learn more about how a pre-loaded campaign from Digital Turbine can help you grab greater market share across Europe (or anywhere else in the world), talk to one of our app marketing experts today.
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