Sales skyrocketed at times
According to the Vedomosti publication, relying on information from domestic retail chains, sales of mobile phones, which cost more than 1346 USD, have sharply increased in Russia.
To catch up to the rise in price. The Russians bought a record number of smartphones more than 1346 USD
Representatives of the MTS and M.Video-Eldorado retail chains confirmed that in the first quarter, sales of smartphones more than 1346 USD in Russia soared twice as compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the representative of Svyaznoy said that sales of such devices since January-March have increased by as much as 300%.
On the MTS Network, in the first quarter, the most popular expensive smartphones were the Apple iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. Interestingly, until mid-March, 60% of such smartphones were bought on credit, and at the end of the month, there were only 30% of credit smartphones, the remaining 70% of the devices were bought for the whole amount at once.
In general, in the first quarter of 2020, according to MTS, record growth in smartphone sales over the past five years was recorded. From January to March, about 7.1 million units were sold in Russia, while the market increased by 13% and amounted to 16,20,584 USD.
Experts quite naturally believe that such demand was triggered by the depreciation of the national currency and news about the impending deficit and rising prices. Many users who planned to purchase flagships decided to purchase smartphones at fixed prices.
