Lowest sales of mobile phones since 2003

Norwegians have not bought less mobile phones since 2003. Instead, we buy far more expensive mobile phones than before.

In total, 1.7 million mobile phones were sold in Norway in 2019, which is a decrease of 6 percent compared to 2018. Thus, no fewer mobile phones have been sold since 2003, when 1,660,000 mobile phones disappeared from the store shelves.

Nonetheless, sales fell by only 3 percent from 2018 to 2019, to NOK 9.7 billion. This means that Norwegians buy fewer, but more expensive mobile phones.

– “Sales of the cheapest mobiles are falling, and at the same time we see growth in the models that cost more than NOK 6,000. The mobile phone is still among the most important asset for the Norwegians, and we are happy to choose the flagship models from the various manufacturers,” says Communications Manager Marte Ottemo of the Electronics Industry Foundation in a press release.

In 2018, the average lifespan of mobile phones was 31.4 months – in 2019 this increased to 32.6 months.

91,000 robotic vacuum cleaners
Figures from the Electronics industry also show that tablet sales increased somewhat from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, 523,000 units were sold, while in 2019 546,000 units were sold for a total value of almost NOK 2 billion.

Robotic vacuum cleaners are also fully entering Norwegian homes.

– “Half a million vacuum cleaners were sold in 2019, and 91,000 of these were robotic vacuum cleaners. This corresponds to a market share of 18.3 percent. In 2018, the robots had 10 percent of the market,” says Jan Røsholm, CEO of the Electronics Industry Foundation.

Record revenue
TV sales follow some of the same trend as mobile phones. 365,000 TVs were sold last year, which is 8,000 fewer than the previous year. Nevertheless, the TVs we buy are getting bigger. Sales of TVs at 55 inches fell by 7 percent last year, while sales of 65-inches increased by 8 percent.

– In 2019, sales of 8K-TVs started in Norway, and in 2020 more models will be on the market. Then we expect the biggest TVs to increase the proportion further, says Røsholm.

In total, electronics were sold for NOK 36.03 billion to consumers in 2019, which is a new record.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today