The launch of iPhone 15 series helped retailers gain big revenue in October 2023. However, from the end of November to the end of December, purchasing power dropped to a deep low.

Nguyen The Kha from FPT Shop said except for iPhone 15 series, which were ‘hot’ the first days of marketing and brought major revenue to the retailer, other smartphone brands went flat or decreased slightly because their flagships had been marketed before, in the third quarter, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold5/Flip5 and OPPO’s Reno10.

Mid-end products were the most affected market segment with purchasing power decreasing twice as much as the high-end price segment. This market segment suffered the most from macroeconomic uncertainties which forced people to cut spending. The high-end market segment also suffered, but the impact was not that strong and the scale of the segment was smaller.

The Gioi Di Dong confirmed that the mobile phone revenue of the entire network decreased by 12 percent in December compared with the month before. 

In normal conditions, revenue in December is always higher than November. However, it was different in 2023. Economic difficulties caused the sales to go down.

Phung Phuong of Di Dong Viet said the sales growth rate in December was modest, just 3-5 percent instead of 10-15 percent as seen in previous years. Meanwhile, sales are usually better towards the end of the year and Tet sale season.

A representative of The Gioi Di Dong said the retail chain has high hopes for January and February 2024, when Tet comes closer. Retail chains are expected to run big sale promotion programs at this time to attract more buyers. Vietnamese tend to buy new and luxurious products to wear on Tet days.

Though affirming that sales in January will be better than in December, he could not say exactly how much the sale growth will be.

Phuong said that Vietnamese consumers tend to buy things just days before Tet, because they hope they can buy products at lower prices under sale promotion programs.

FPT launched a sale promotion campaign starting December 28 and ending February 29, 2024, offering price reduction of up to VND2 million for the iPhone 15 series. A reduction of VND3-4 million is being applied to iPhone 13 128GB (now sold at VND15.99 million) and iPhone 14 Pro Max 256GB.

Samsung Galaxy S22 5G 128GB buyers can enjoy a price reduction of VN10 million and pay by installment with a zero percent interest rate.

Trong Dat