Cell phone sales are in a post-pandemic slump according to a new report from Traqline. Consumers are less willing to buy new devices despite sales and slowing inflation. In September the top cell service providers were Verizon at 18 percent of the market, T-Mobile at 15 percent and AT&T/Cingular at 16 percent. 

Meanwhile, 83 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase their cell phones from one store, with 78 percent choosing one brand of cell phone. Apple has the highest purchase rate at 87 percent.

More than 62 percent of consumers purchased their cell phone in-store, while 33 percent bought their phone online. This is benefiting price conscious consumers, as the average online purchase was $514 compared to $504 for in-store sales. 

When it comes to unit share, Apple is tops with 64 percent of dollar share and 47 percent of unit share. Samsung comes in second with 25 percent of dollar share and 29 percent of unit share. This is 20 percentage points higher than the next popular brand, Google, which has only 4 percent of dollar share and 4 percent unit share.  

Apple also saw the highest level of year-over-year growth, increasing 1 percentage point in dollar and unit share. Samsung has decreased one point since 2022 in dollar and unit share. 

A similar report by Counterpoint finds that of the top five smartphone brands, Xiaoni was the only brand to experience significant year-over-year growth at 41.5 million smartphones in Q3 2020. 

Meanwhile, top brands like Honor, Motorola, Tecno and Huawei also saw double-digit growth in areas like the Middle East, with Africa seeing the highest increases and North America experiencing the greatest decline. 

The average price of a cell phone rose slightly from $498 in 2022 to $503 in 2023. Apple tops cell phone providers with the highest average price of $844, up from $814 in 2022. 

The majority of cell phone purchases are homeowners, with 52 percent reporting being married. However, 40 percent of cell phone purchases were made by males only, while 21 percent of purchases are made with males and females involved in the purchase. 
 
“As seen in previous years, the most mentioned reason for purchasing a cell phone is “the old one was broken” with 49 percent of consumers selecting it as a primary purchase driver,” the report stated. “Other top reasons for purchase include “the old one is fine, I just want a new one” at 24 percent and “switched to another carrier or provider” at 9 percent.