Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform continues to see growth according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel. The data indicates that Windows Phone has surpassed a 10% sales share in the five largest European countries, while nearing a 5% sales share in the United States.
“Momentum for Windows Phone is continuing, although its growth remains reliant on low-end handsets. In Britain, almost three quarters of Nokia Lumia sales in the latest period were low-end devices such as the Lumia 520 and 620 – a pattern that is similar across other EU markets,” the report stated. The big five European markets includes Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
In Britan, Windows Phone has surged to 11.9% share (+7.3%) compared to the previous year. However, Android’s 55.5% share and iOS’ 28.7% share dominate the market. In Germany, Windows Phone holds a 6.3% share, which is up by 4% compared to the previous year. Android and iOS account for 77.5% and 13.8% respectively.
In France, Windows Phone owns 12.5% of the share (+7.4), but Android and iOS take the cake with 68.1% and 15.9% respectively. In Italy, Windows Phone actually beats iOS with a 16.1% share, while iOS holds a 10.1% share. Android, on the other hand, owns the Italian market with a 68.8% share.
And finally, in Spain, Windows Phone holds a 4.3% share while iOS also holds a 4.3% share. Android, on the other hand, dominates with a 90.1% share. China, unfortunately, is a weak market for Windows Phone as the share dropped to 3.5%.
In the United States, Windows Phone is now at 4.8% share (+2.3%) and is firmly in third place behind iOS’ 40.8% share and Android’s 52.6% share.
So as you can see, momentum is indeed growing for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform when compared to the previous year. In the EU, low-end Windows Phone devices are responsible for the increase in sales. In the United States, we can see that the share is increasing slowly but steadily.
Further reading: Microsoft, Windows Phone
