New smartphone research finds that consumers have spent a massive $4.61 trillion on smartphones between 2014 and 2024 — more than the GDP of some of the world’s largest economies, according to a new study from Statista and Counterpoint Research.
While the smartphone industry has had its ups and downs, with the past few years declining in shipments and revenue. Overall, the market has been widely prosperous for manufacturers and telecoms. The good news also is that the smartphone sector is expected to rebound in 2024 to grow 6%.
Overall, spending on smartphones has jumped 43% since 2014, according to the research firms.
Big spender
According to market research firm IDC, global smartphone shipments have hit 14 billion during this 2014 to 2024 period. During that time $4.61 trillion was spent by consumers, which is more than the gross domestic product of Germany and Japan and twice the that of Canada, France or Italy.
The best years for smartphone sales were in 2021 and 2023, with revenues of $481.2 billion and $479 billion, respectively, according to Statista and Counterpoint.
Accelerated spending
The news for smartphone OEMs and telecoms gets better as consumers are forecast to spend another $2.6 trillion on these mobile devices in just the next five years, or already nearly 60% of the revenue generated between 2014 and 2024, Statista said.
The annual spending will also see double-digit growth, rising by 16% or $57 billion in the next five years. By 2028, worldwide consumer spending on smartphones will grow to more than $542 billion, up from $467 billion this year.
Much of this growth will be driven by:
- Smartphones at lower prices
- Sales in emerging markets
- Significant growth strides by Chinese vendors
- New features such as AI
