Hang up the phone: smartphones in Russia have risen in price by 10%
Smartphones began to become more expensive in Russia: prices crept up in the second half of spring and reached 10%, gadget sellers and analysts told Izvestia. At the same time, sales decreased by 15-20%. Even the strengthening of the ruble did not help to increase them — the rising cost of components for these gadgets and logistical costs are pushing prices up, experts say. Whether the trend will continue and how things are going with other electronics is in the Izvestia article.
How much have smartphones become more expensive in Russia
Smartphone prices in Russia increased in the first half of 2025 compared to the end of 2024, while gadget sales declined. Market participants told Izvestia about this. In particular, Marvel Distribution is talking about an increase in cost depending on the segment. This trend is likely to last until the end of summer, the company believes.
Mobile Research Group estimates that smartphone prices in Russia have increased by an average of 10% over the same period. The price increase primarily affected high-budget models, says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at the company.
The fact is that prices for gadget components have increased on the world market: due to the geopolitical situation, the delivery of spare parts and finished products is unstable, and the channels through which Asian manufacturers receive payments from Russia are being closed or reopened - all this leads to an increase in the cost of gadgets, he explained. Together with the high interest rate of the Central Bank and a decrease in the availability of loans, the situation led to a sharp decline in smartphone sales — in the first half of 2025, compared with the end of 2024, they decreased by 10-15%, the expert said.
— The cost of components is growing because their manufacturers have started to massively buy new—generation production equipment - without it, the vendor may be an outsider in the technology market. Accordingly, investments need to be recouped — therefore, a chip that cost about $60 a year ago may cost $85 today," Eldar Murtazin explained.
Logistics is becoming more expensive due to the fact that carriers include possible closures of airspace and seas in the Middle East in the cost: on average, their services have increased in price by about 6% in six months, the expert added.
He notes that prices for electronics and household appliances are moving in different directions. For example, the second one has even fallen a little, and the cost of computers, which are now overflowing with sellers' warehouses, is not increasing, he added. Prices for smartphone accessories are rising, the turnover period of which is relatively short, the expert said.
Despite the depreciation of the ruble, smartphones have actually risen in price by about 10% on average, and their sales are falling, Denis Kuskov, CEO of Telecom Daily, agrees. Logistics at the global level has become more expensive, besides, the demand for components necessary for the production of gadgets is growing — their manufacturers are "re-equipped," the expert points out.
The decline in the market is also confirmed by the sellers of the devices themselves.
— By the end of the first half of 2025, we forecast smartphone sales in the Russian market at 11.2 million units worth 275 billion rubles. Compared to January – June 2024, the reduction was 22% in units and 20% in money, MTS retail told Izvestia.
At the same time, the average price of gadgets has really increased, the company admitted.
According to Marvel Distribution, smartphone sales in Russia in January–June decreased by 10-15% in units and 20-30% in money compared to the same period last year. In this regard, retailers are reducing prices for a number of models due to promotional offers in the face of declining demand, the company believes.
"We expect a revival in demand in the fourth quarter of this year due to the expiration of bank deposits, receipt of interest on them and the implementation of deferred demand," the company added.
In the first half of the year, Xiaomi, realme, Tecno, Samsung and Infinix became the leaders of the Russian smartphone market in terms of the number of devices sold, M.Video-Eldorado told Izvestia. These brands are mainly focused on the mass segment and offer a wide range of affordable models, which is especially important in the context of reduced consumer spending, they noted.
— In terms of revenue, the top five look different: Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, realme and Tecno dominate here. Apple traditionally ranks first in monetary terms due to the premium segment and the high average price of its devices. Samsung maintains a strong position in both the middle and upper price ranges. Xiaomi closes the top three thanks to a balanced lineup and steady demand for models of the Redmi Note series," M.Video-Eldorado added.
Why gadget sales are falling
As a source in a large marketplace told Izvestia, the market is really falling for a number of reasons. Among them is the high rate of the Central Bank (people prefer to keep money on deposits rather than spend it), insufficient incentive programs from the manufacturer. In addition, smartphones have become so productive that they do not need to be updated, and there are no new breakthrough technologies that would stimulate purchase, he said. Gadgets are updated only by wealthy citizens, simply because they can afford it, the source added. According to him, the decline in smartphone sales in Russia was 25% in units and 16% in money.
According to the commercial director of "Refrigerator.<url>" by Alexey Pogudalov, a similar trend is observed in the segments of computers and laptops (a decrease in sales in units by 15%).
— The recession is explained by the effect of the "cooling" of the economy caused by the government's efforts to curb inflation and reduce consumer activity, — he said. — In 2025, sales are expected to decrease by 15-20% compared to 2024: price changes are possible only in case of significant fluctuations in exchange rates.
At the same time, the Wildberries press service reported that sales growth at the site this year amounted to 31%, and the average receipt increased by 17%. The reason is the increase in the number of sellers (including from China and the UAE), which means that the range is expanding while maintaining favorable prices. The possibility of installments also played a role, as well as prompt delivery to all regions of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, listed in the marketplace.
However, prices for used smartphones of popular models are decreasing — they have changed by almost a third in a year, said Pavel Komarov, head of the Electronics and Home Appliances business at Avito. Thus, the cost of the iPhone Xr (-30%), iPhone 11 (-29%), iPhone 12 and iPhone X (-28% of the cost of each model) decreased by almost a third year by year, he gave an example.
— In the coming months, we expect lower prices for both new devices and smartphones in retail. This is due to the strengthening of the ruble exchange rate and the upcoming releases of new flagships of popular brands," Pavel Komarov said.
The current trend is explained by the effect of a high base: consumers actively updated their gadgets in late 2023 and early 2024, according to Megafon. The situation stabilized in the second half of last year.
— A new smartphone change cycle has not yet arrived. In addition, high loan rates, which were widely used when purchasing devices, have an impact," the company's press service noted.
Finally, the consumer has no additional incentives to purchase — until some fundamentally new technologies have appeared that require updating the gadget, the representative of Megafon concluded.
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