Global CE (Consumer Electrics) Markets & Trends

Consumer electronics (CE) forms a multibillion-dollar industry, steadily progressing and developing with technology and adding new product lines toward changing lifestyles. According to Statista, despite disrupted growth in several sectors during the pandemic, the consumer electronics market was resilient even with the intermittent closure of physical stores worldwide. In addition, people spend a lot more time at home, so increased demand for greater comfort and security through intelligent devices and appliances drove growth in the sector.

Although traditionally associated with e-commerce are still among the fastest-growing segments in global online sales, online sales of consumer electronics and apparel were still a solid growing share of total sales. According to Statista Consumer Market Outlook, around every fifth household appliance is already bought online, which is expected to grow to 31% by 2023.

As reported by Statista, the revenue in the CE market amounts to USD 1,057 billion in 2022, and the largest segment is telephony, with a market volume of USD 482.9 billion. Moreover, the market is expected to grow annually by 1.84% at CAGR from 2022 to 2026. In global comparison, most revenue is generated in China at USD 250.9 billion in 2022. By the end of 2022, the online sales of the worldwide CE market will reach 43.8% of the total shares.

In the consumer market, volume is expected to amount to 8,950.7 million pieces by 2026, and the CE market is expected to show a volume growth of 1.6% in 2023. The average volume person in the CE market is expected to reach 1.11 pieces in 2022.

Consumer spending on traditional and emerging technologies is forecasted to amount to 505 billion US dollars, with 2.1 billion units shipped by 2022, marking a year-on-year growth of 2.8%. Emerging consumer technologies include AR/VR headsets, drones, on-demand devices, robotic systems, etc. The significantly growing popularity of modern consumer electronics in the Asia Pacific is expected to accelerate the growth of the global consumer electronics market shortly. Moreover, as an extremely highly competitive market, new players are constantly entering the market, particularly China, a global hub for manufacturing products. In contrast, Japan’s and South Korea’s markets are expected to grow at similar rates over the next five years.

Wearable devices, including fitness trackers, smartwatches, and hearables, are the relative newcomer to the CE market and have embraced great consumer enthusiasm over the last years. The overall wearable market will ship around 490 million units by 2023, increasing approximately 80% compared to the number of shipments registered in 2020. Sales of other devices like gaming consoles and VR/AR headsets are growing strong, as consumers are even going after new and exciting experiences.

According to Deloitte’s Survey, the study found that 39% of respondents owned a smartwatch. Their most common uses have historically been to help people get fit, lose weight, and beat their personal health goals. Increasingly, people are using smartwatches to monitor their health, not just their running pace, as new hardware, software, and apps have turned them into personalized health clinics. Heart rate monitors are now standard on most smartwatches, and some have FDA approval for detecting abnormalities such as atrial fibrillation, a major cause of stroke. As these devices get more sophisticated, the percentage of consumers using them to manage chronic conditions and detect symptoms of serious disease will likely increase.

TAKE-HOME MESSAGE.

As COVID-19 spread, smartwatches that measure blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) became widely available, alerting people with low SpO2, a life-threatening symptom that is hard for people to detect unassisted. Moreover, data from these wearables can be sent for advanced analytics. With the right technology, including interoperability capabilities, doctors could see wearable health data on a patient’s health record, gaining access to more comprehensive information to inform diagnosis and care. Amidst the crisis, the wearables are, therefore, taking over the global CE market.

Article by: Asst. Prof. Suwan Juntiwasarakij, Ph.D., Senior Editor & MEGA Tech