Smart and connected

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We highlight growth patterns, technology innovations, trends and forecasts for global consumer electronics’ markets in the October issue of ISMR.

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The market for consumer electronics is continuously growing and altering in response to trends that have emerged in recent years. Consumer electronics have swiftly become an essential part of modern living. Because of developments in technology, manufacturers are continuously coming up with innovative new products to meet the ever-evolving demands and preferences of end users.

Consumer electronics are designed to make the mundane tasks of daily living easier, more productive and more pleasurable. Examples include items such as smartphones; laptops; tablets; televisions; digital cameras; game consoles; audio/video equipment; major/small household appliances and smart home/wearable technologies. The personal segment is expected to see considerable growth opportunities due to falling prices for personal electronic items and rising spending on products such as Bluetooth speakers, smartphones, earphones, wearables etc.

The electronics industry is an important part of the manufacturing export sectors of many Asian industrial economies including mainland China; South Korea; Japan; Singapore; Taiwan; Malaysia; Thailand and Vietnam. Market drivers include the increasing use of smartphones in daily life and the greater use of advanced technologies in new product development (such as micro-LED technology in TVs).

Global market analysis

“The global consumer electronics’ market size was worth around US$ 1.10 trillion in 2021 and is estimated to grow to about US$ 1.70 trillion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.6% over the forecast period,” commented analyst, Zion Research, in its latest market report published in March this year.

The report analyses market drivers as well as restraints/challenges and the effect that they have on demand during the projection period. It also explores emerging opportunities in the consumer electronics market.

“Consumer electronics have become essential as part of the modern lifestyle and are expected to maintain this significant outlook over the forecast period. The consumer electronics market is anticipated to be greatly influenced by increasing technological proliferation on a global scale,” continued the analyst.

It expects the market to be governed by factors such as increasing urbanisation, rising disposable income and growing digitisation which promote the sales of consumer electronics. The market is expected to see lucrative opportunities from the emerging smart technologies trend. However, market growth is predicted to be restrained by low technological proliferation in economies with low GDP and less spending potential.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a steep decline in consumer electronics’ market revenues owing to a drop in sales in lockdown conditions. Lockdowns resulted in the closure of multiple sales and distribution channels and this negatively impacted market growth. However, the work-from-home trend that emerged during this pandemic helped the market to recover some losses as sales of residential consumer electronics saw a surge in demand in 2020.

“The consumer electronics market is anticipated to make a good comeback in the post-pandemic era as restrictions are lifted and the world returns to normality. Consumer electronics companies are anticipated to run manufacturing facilities at full capacity to compensate for losses that were incurred in 2020 due to downtime,” added Zion Research.

“There are still unexplored territories that market players can tap into and unleash full market growth. They have yet to fully penetrate markets with low-income population and this is a major restraint as affordable products are hard to make due to the high costs of components and electronics,” it continued.

Analyst Verified Market Research believes that the smartphone will drive the global consumer electronics market.

“Various smartphone manufacturers are coming up with innovative features, increasing sales of this device. Demand is likely to be driven by technological developments, the emergence of 3G and 4G technologies, and innovation,” it said.

Smart technology trends

Smart technologies have seen a prominent rise in popularity over the past few years and this trend has greatly fuelled consumer electronics’ market growth. The adoption of smart technology is expected to pick up pace through to 2028. Connected home technology will drive demand for smart devices and the increasing penetration of Internet of things (IoT) devices is also expected to enhance consumer electronics’ market growth through to 2028.

Any collection of gadgets, systems or appliances that are connected to a single network and may operate independently and from a distance are referred to as smart home automation. A connected home is a more general term for a home's technology when it functions as one system. As an illustration, the home's thermostat; lighting; audio speakers; security cameras; TVs; locks; appliances and more are all interconnected into a single system that can be managed from a smartphone or via a mobile touchscreen device.

To read the rest of this article in ISMR’s October 2023 issue, see https://joom.ag/36gd/p30