Apple's iPhone European Sales And Market Share See Decline

The faltering economy and price-competitive rivals have triggered a decline in the market share and sales of Apple's iPhone in the majority of Europe, except in the UK, based on data shown from European research firm Kantar today. The October release of Apple's new iPhone 4S buttressed its position in the UK as well as the United States, but the new iPhone didn't do much to spark interest in mainland Europe, where Apple's share of the ever-growing smartphone market has fallen.

Mainland Europe, specifically France, Germany, Italy, and Spain all saw declines, with the most significant coming from France, a 29 percent drop to 20 percent, while Germany fell from 27 percent to 22 percent. Germany is also where Android has seen one of its largest leads, where 61 percent were getting Android phones, lead by Samsung's Galaxy S II. Kantar ascribed the French decline to "price sensitivity," but much of mainland Europe was likely being hit by a potential reversal in economic growth since 2008.

Moreover, the decline can also be attributed to the ever-growing Android platform, the smartphone industry being more and more dominated by Google, the company holding market shares of between 46 and 61 percent in all markets. Reuters reports that "European consumers are keeping a lid on their expenses as government spending cuts and job losses deprive companies of demand for goods and crush exports."

Who can blame them? Google keeping their prices competitive to Apple may just have been the trick this time around.

[via Reuters]