CE Accessories Grow the Industry

Accessories, a key segment of the consumer electronics industry, are often overshadowed by top selling devices such as smartphones and tablets. Nevertheless, accessories are a strong growth driver for the industry as a whole. They add significant revenue in a number of different CE categories, and sales estimates look promising for 2013 and beyond.

The headphone and earphone markets make the most noise for the accessories division, responsible for 14 percent of estimated wholesale revenues for 2013. Headphones are the No. 1 planned CE purchase based on 2012 CE household spending levels, and are on the rise with estimated revenue growth of 13 percent (an additional $161 million) from $1.2 billion. Growth in 2014 looks strong as well, but will level off in 2015, suggesting a potential shift in the fashion trends that have helped drive the success of these devices.

The strongest growth drivers for the headphone market are in-ear earbuds and over-the-ear wireless headphones. Wired earbuds accounted for 39 percent of 2012 revenues for the headphone market, and growth will be steady in the future. Over-the-ear wireless headphones, which made up only three percent of 2012 revenues, will grow by 106 percent over the entire forecast horizon(through 2017). Headphones have currently reached a 70 percent household penetration rate.