The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have failed to set the sales chart on fire in Samsung’s own market, South Korea. As per a retailer, Samsung’s own Galaxy A8 is outselling the Galaxy S9 despite the Korean company heavily advertising its latest flagship.

The retailer says that consumers don’t believe there is much of a difference between the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S8 from last year due to which they are not that keen on upgrading to it. On the other hand, Samsung’s own Galaxy A8 is doing fairly well in South Korea as it has dual cameras at the front. This makes the handset popular among teenagers and consumers in their early 20s who take a lot of selfies. It is currently Samsung’s highest selling smartphone in the country.

Additionally, another key factor that has led to a decline in the demand for Galaxy S9 is the lack of carrier subsidies. While major South Korean operators continue to offer some subsidies with the Galaxy S9, they are not as lucrative and tempting as last year. South Korean carriers were forced to clamp down on their illegal subsidies after they were fined by the South Korean government. The Galaxy S8 was available in South Korea for around US$1,800 within days of its launch thanks to various subsidies from carriers, but this year, the Galaxy S9 is available for around US$ 4,140 even after taking into account all the subsidies.

Our Take

Despite Samsung making some major internals improvements on the Galaxy S9, the handset looks largely similar to that of the Galaxy S8 and offers an experience similar to it as well. The response to the handset in other parts of the world has also been largely the same. Thus, it is not surprising to see that consumers are not interested in buying the handset and are instead opting for other cheaper models. Now, it is up to Samsung’s marketing department to make the Galaxy S9 sell by offering tempting discounts and offers for it.