British consumers dump Huawei phones as US-China trade war sparks retail backlash
- Surge reported in number of British consumers trading in devices from Chinese manufacturer, while interest from buyers fizzles
- At least one company has stopped accepting new Huawei trade-ins as it ‘expects the value of these devices to plummet’
British consumers have begun trading in smartphones from Huawei Technologies in growing numbers since the Chinese tech giant was hit by a US supply blacklist.
Trade-in and price-tracking companies report a surge in British consumers trading in devices from the Shenzhen-based manufacturer, while interest from buyers fizzles.
The numbers show that concerns around the company have extended beyond trade talks and corporate procurement and turned into backlash at retail, where Huawei makes most of its sales.
Gadget trade-in website WeBuyTek, which buys and resells about 36,000 handsets a year, has seen a 540 per cent increase in the number of Huawei devices booked this week versus last. That’s the biggest spike it’s ever seen, the company’s director, Paul Walsh, said by email.
‘’We have temporarily stopped accepting any new trade-ins, as we expect the value of these devices to plummet,” he said.
The rush follows the decision by BT Group and Vodafone Group to pull the Huawei Mate 20 X (5G) phone from their launches of fifth-generation wireless products.
The British carriers joined others from around the world, citing uncertainty after Huawei was cut off from US companies by new trade restrictions and barred from receiving software support for the Android operating system from Google.
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Although existing phones are not yet affected by the US action, the news about Google spooked consumers about the capabilities of their devices, said Canalys analyst Ben Stanton.
“Google and Huawei have offered some explanation, but it’s been very short and coy,” Stanton said.
“I know from speaking to people within those organisations – they’re still trying to work out exactly how they can work within this framework, and they’re not exactly sure how this will develop.”
Clicks on Huawei devices declined 46 per cent this week in Britain from the previous week, said PriceSpy, which tracks user consumers who are comparing product prices. Over the same period, interest in handsets from rivals Xiaomi and Samsung rose.
China dismisses US ‘rumours’ about Huawei links to Beijing
“There seems to be this lapse in consumer confidence, even with the current products,” said Stanton, adding the news has come “at a horrific time in terms of the launching of 5G phones”.
