Key Points
China's smartphone sales fell 13% during the 2026 618 Shopping Festival.
Huawei led the market with 19% year-over-year sales growth.
Higher memory costs limited discounts and raised smartphone prices.
Weak consumer spending continues to pressure China's smartphone market.
China’s smartphone market had a weak showing during the 2026 618 Shopping Festival, one of the country’s largest annual shopping events. Between May 26 and June 21, 2026, smartphone sales fell 13% year over year, even after weeks of promotions and discounts.
The decline points to softer consumer spending and higher smartphone prices driven by rising component costs. It also reflects changing buying habits and increasing pressure on leading smartphone brands. Here’s why sales dropped and what it could mean for China’s smartphone market.
What Happened During China’s 618 Shopping Festival?
A Key Retail Event Lost Momentum
China’s 618 Shopping Festival has been one of the country’s biggest online sales events for years. This year’s campaign ran from May 26 to June 21, 2026, but smartphone demand came in below expectations. According to Counterpoint Research, smartphone sales declined 13% compared with the same period last year, despite weeks of promotional offers.
The festival began as a one-day shopping event launched by JD.com. It has since expanded into a month-long sales campaign. Even so, longer promotional periods and cautious consumer spending have reduced the urgency to shop during the event. This year’s results reflect slower demand across China’s consumer electronics market.
Why Did Smartphone Sales Drop 13%?
Did Rising Memory Costs Push Prices Higher?
Yes. Memory chip prices climbed sharply in 2026 as demand for AI-related infrastructure increased. Smartphone manufacturers faced higher production costs and passed some of those costs on to buyers. As a result, many new models, and even some older ones, were sold at higher prices than comparable devices a year earlier.
Why Were Discounts Less Attractive?
Brands offered fewer deep discounts than they did during the 2025 festival. That made the annual sales event less appealing for shoppers looking for bargain prices. Many consumers chose to postpone upgrades because the savings were too small to justify buying a new phone.
How Did Consumer Spending Affect Sales?
Consumers in China remain cautious about discretionary spending. Longer promotional campaigns also reduced the pressure to buy during the festival itself. Many shoppers decided to wait for future offers instead of purchasing immediately. Higher prices combined with weaker demand led to the overall decline in smartphone sales.
Winners and Losers Among Smartphone Brands
Which Brand Performed Best?
Huawei recorded the strongest performance among major smartphone makers. It was the only leading brand to report year-over-year growth during the festival. Sales rose 19%, giving the company roughly 21% of the market. Strong demand for the Enjoy 90 Pro Max and Mate 80 series supported that growth.
How Did Apple Perform?
Apple’s sales slipped by about 9%, but the company still moved into the second position in China’s smartphone market. Early promotional campaigns, trade-in programmes, and platform subsidies helped reduce the impact of weaker consumer demand.
Which Chinese Brands Lost Ground?
Several domestic brands recorded steeper declines during the festival.
- Honor sales fell 33%.
- Xiaomi sales dropped 24%.
- Higher prices and fewer discounts weakened demand.
Investors can also use Meyka’s AI stock analysis tool to track listed smartphone companies and monitor market sentiment alongside technical indicators.
What Does This Mean for China’s Smartphone Market?
What Could Happen Next?
Counterpoint Research expects demand to remain soft after the 618 Shopping Festival as seasonal buying slows. Analysts also expect smartphone shipments in China to post a double-digit decline during 2026.
Higher component costs, cautious consumer spending, and limited room for aggressive price cuts are likely to keep pressure on manufacturers. Many brands may focus more on premium smartphones and AI-powered features to protect margins rather than relying on large discounts. Investors should continue watching upcoming product launches and consumer demand through the second half of the year.
Conclusion
This year’s 618 Shopping Festival showed that discounts alone are no longer enough to lift smartphone sales in China. Higher production costs and cautious consumer spending affected most major brands. Huawei gained market share while several competitors lost ground.
The next few months will show whether new devices, stronger promotions, and improving consumer confidence can help revive demand in China’s smartphone market.
Disclaimer:
The content shared by Meyka AI PTY LTD is solely for research and informational purposes. Meyka is not a financial advisory service, and the information provided should not be considered investment or trading advice.
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