550,000 Preorders in 2 Days
Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S8, which has started receiving a preorder from April 7 in Korea, is expected to make a hit.
According to industry sources on April 9, the Galaxy S8 has received a total of 550,000 units of preorders in just two days from April 7 to 8. The figure far surpasses a record-high number of 400,000 preorders for the Galaxy Note 7 and it is 5.5 times more than the preorders for the previous Galaxy S7, which has the highest sales of 49 million units on an annual basis.
This is largely due to high potential demand as cellphone retail stores have received the preorders with names and contact information in advance.
In addition, Samsung Electronics and the nation’s three mobile carriers as well as other businesses in various industries, such as mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), airliner and game, have carried out a large-scale marketing campaigns, boosting the preorders. They have provided free gifts, including Bluetooth speakers and smartphone accessories, and the mobile carriers have offered specialized programs at the same time.
MVNO companies, which have so far released premium smartphones later than others due to the failure in securing the first batch, have also started receiving the preorder for the Galaxy S8, touting their advantages. Airliners and game developers have carried out numerous marketing campaigns related to the Galaxy S8. Samsung Electronics, Asiana Airlines and SK Telecom have launched the Galaxy S8 Asiana Airlines version on the same day.
As the Galaxy S8 has received a record high number of preorders, the number of consumers who used a number portability service has reduced. This is because a growing number of consumers want to change their phones to the Galaxy S8 and it has converted to potential demand until the official release.