Xiaomi is catching up to Huawei in western Europe’s smartphone market thanks to strong online marketing

Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi may be losing ground to bigger rival Huawei Technologies in its domestic market, but in western Europe it is catching up thanks to strong online marketing that cushioned the impact of coronavirus on its sales efforts there, according to the latest data from research firm Canalys.

Xiaomi now accounts for 10 per cent of the market in western Europe after its smartphone shipments grew 79 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, the only major vendor to achieve positive growth amid countrywide lockdowns imposed to limit the spread of the pandemic, Canalys said.

The growth spurt saw Xiaomi jump to fourth spot in the region, behind third-place Huawei which currently holds an 18 per cent market share in the region, down a few percentage points, after a 40 per cent year-on-year decline in shipments.

“The impact on smartphone channels is colossal,” Canalys analyst Vincent Thielke said in the report. “Omni-channel retailers in strict lockdown regions, such as Europe, are doing their best to shift offline store stock into online distribution channels.”

The acceleration to online shopping during lockdowns also boosted Xiaomi’s performance, according to Marta Pinto, research manager for the European mobile devices team at IDC. “The brand is expanding its own vendor stores and continues to build awareness through social media,” she said.

Canalys said Xiaomi’s first quarter smartphone shipments on a worldwide basis increased 9 per cent year on year to 30.2 million units, bucking the global trend that saw total industry shipments fall 13 per cent to 272 million units as dampened consumer sentiment and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic hurt sales.