Coronavirus Partly to Blame for Poor Galaxy S20 Sales Figures

Typically, first day sales can be a decent indicator to gauge a particular phone’s popularity in a given region. In past years, we’ve used these numbers to see how popular the latest Samsung Galaxy phone is, and for the most part, the figures are reliable.

For example, the Galaxy Note 10 is quite up there, marked at 220,000 units sold for the first day in South Korea. The Galaxy S10 lineup is also high, with 140,000 units sold during its first day. The problem is, there are factors that can greatly affect those figures, such as we’re seeing with the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Estimated first day Galaxy S20 sales figures are in and they aren’t looking good. According to Korea Herald, estimated sales are listed at just 70,800 units. That’s half of last year’s Galaxy S10 lineup.

There are a few ways you can break this down, but here’s what a representative from a Korean telecom company said about it.

Sales were affected by sharp declines in discounts for new phones and the number of visitors to offline stores due to coronavirus infection fears.

And really, that’s all that needs to be said. Given the current happenings across the globe, it’s no surprise that less people would be willing to leave the house in order to buy a new phone, which is apparently how these initial figures are calculated. If they don’t take online sales into account, then they’re basically worthless.

Damn you, Coronavirus. Stay safe and keep washing your hands, people. And as for the Galaxy S20, be on the lookout for an unboxing coming at you soon.

// Korea Herald