BUCHAREST, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The smartphone market in Romania grew by about 40 percent in the first half of 2018 compared to the reference period last year, with phone models in the middle and high segments being more sought after by consumers, according to an industry survey published on Thursday.
According to the document, between January and June 2018, Romanians were targeting at smartphones in the mid-to-high-range available in the market. Moreover, they wanted phones with an increasing battery life.
The average price of smartphones sold in Romania exceeded 200 euros (233 U.S. dollars) in the first six months of this year, up 13 percent from the average price recorded in the same period of 2017, according to the survey by Avenir Telecom, one of the main players in the local professional market and subsidiary of the French group Avenir Telecom SA.
"Consumers began to focus on higher-value handsets, showing a preference for purchasing flagship products of the manufacturers," the study said, adding that apart from the change in user behavior, the evolution of the smartphone market was also driven by the increase in overall consumption, as well as by the change in the strategy of manufacturers that launched more middle and high-end products into the market, thus shifting consumer attention to these categories of smartphones.
Romania remains one of the most attractive telecoms markets in Europe, with total revenues of 3.8 billion euros (4.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017.
