--- title: "Infographic: 2022 Holiday Smartphone Sales, Apple the Clear Winner Despite Supply Challenges" date: 2023-01-11T00:00:00-08:00 author: Ash Kreider canonical_url: "https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/2022-holiday-smartphone-sales-apple-the-clear-winner-despite-supply-challenges" section: Blog --- - [ ](http://twitter.com/iQmetrix) - [ ](https://www.facebook.com/pages/iQmetrix/167877886558671) - [ ](http://www.linkedin.com/company/iqmetrix) - [ ](http://www.youtube.com/user/iQmetrixCorp) - [ ](https://www.instagram.com/iqmetrix/) [Back](https://www.iqmetrix.com/resources/blog) ## Amid ​“muted” growth and lack of demand, Apple emerged as the clear winner in US smartphone sales. Between ongoing supply chain disruptions, runaway inflation, and consumer belt-tightening caused by the increased cost of living, forecasts for the 2022 holiday shopping season were decidedly gloomy. [Analysts predicted](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/get-ready-for-a-potentially-rocky-peak-retail-season) a 2.5% growth in total holiday revenue – a net decrease in a year that has averaged 7.1% inflation. Holiday revenue did come in higher than expected, [up 7.6% from last year](https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2022/december/mastercard-spendingpulse-u-s-retail-sales-grew-7-6-this-holiday-season/) *before* inflation – making the actual growth either flat or very modest. So how did this year’s holiday shopping season shake out for wireless retail? ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAsAAAAjAQMAAAB4nWI+AAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAAxJREFUCNdjYKATAAAAaQABwB3y+AAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==) Consumers desperate for some sense of normalcy nearly three years into a global pandemic prioritized experiences over goods in their shopping decisions; driving restaurant spending up 15.1% this holiday, while [sales of electronics were down 5.3%](https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2022/december/mastercard-spendingpulse-u-s-retail-sales-grew-7-6-this-holiday-season/). Lack of demand led to deep discounts of electronics that [peaked at up to 25%](https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/cyber-monday-online-sales/#:~:text=Cyber%20Monday%202022%20sales%20increased,annual%20growth%20rate%20of%207.4%25.) (compared to 8% in 2021). Perhaps the biggest surprise is that despite serious challenges in its Chinese production facilities that drove analysts to cut [forecasts for Q4 iPhone shipments by 20 million](https://www.macrumors.com/2022/11/29/kuo-iphone-14-pro-shipments-significantly-lower/), Apple still managed to capture [69% of November smartphone sales](https://www.ped30.com/2023/01/03/apple-iphone-pacman-jpmorgan/), despite having [56% of US smartphone market share in Q3 2022](https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile). **Given that November saw** [**projections for global smartphone shipments to remain sluggish**](https://report.counterpointresearch.com/posts/report_view/Outlook/3513)**, with projected growth of only 1.45%, it will be interesting to see how the final totals for holiday shopping in 2022 influence outlooks for 2023.** - [ ](http://twitter.com/iQmetrix) - [ ](https://www.facebook.com/pages/iQmetrix/167877886558671) - [ ](http://www.linkedin.com/company/iqmetrix) - [ ](http://www.youtube.com/user/iQmetrixCorp) - [ ](https://www.instagram.com/iqmetrix/) Subscribe to our newsletter You have opted out of some cookies, meaning that our demo form is not available to you. Please email sales@iqmetrix.com or call us on 1.866.476.3874 to get started. Related Stories [Native vs. Browser-Based POS: Which is Better for Telecom Retail?](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/native-vs-browser-based-pos-which-is-better-for-telecom-retail) [Retail Evolved: Upgrades are Slowing and Resale is Exploding](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/retail-evolved-upgrades-are-slowing-and-resale-is-exploding) [Retail Evolved: Intelligent Automation Is Reshaping Telecom Retail](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/retail-evolved-intelligent-automation-is-reshaping-telecom-retail) ### Related Stories [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAA8AAAAIAQMAAAAcHTexAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAAtJREFUCNdjYMAOAAAYAAFNB2pIAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) ](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/native-vs-browser-based-pos-which-is-better-for-telecom-retail) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAA8AAAAIAQMAAAAcHTexAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAAtJREFUCNdjYMAOAAAYAAFNB2pIAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) ](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/retail-evolved-upgrades-are-slowing-and-resale-is-exploding) [ ![](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAA8AAAAIAQMAAAAcHTexAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAAtJREFUCNdjYMAOAAAYAAFNB2pIAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) ](https://www.iqmetrix.com/blog/retail-evolved-intelligent-automation-is-reshaping-telecom-retail)