Consumer Electronics

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with rising income inequality being among the key ones. Nevertheless, addressing the income inequality through catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Middle Class…

The global economy is facing weaker growth and increasing fragmentation, as a result of rising geopolitical tensions, especially due to the war in Ukraine and the US-China strategic rivalry. Protectionism, industrial policy and a focus on resilience…

In 2023, smart wearables is expected to see double-digit retail volume and current value growth; faster than the increments recorded in 2022. Consumers in Mexico are more aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the wake of the Coronavirus…

2023 saw wearable electronics remain one of the most dynamic categories in Argentina’s consumer electronics industry, with the very strong performances recorded in smart wearables and activity watch (digital) underpinning a strong increase in demand…

Over 2023, portable players is projected to continue to see double-digit retail volume growth and high single-digit retail current value growth. However, there remain significant divergences within the category in terms of retail volume and current…

The positive volume growth that has been recorded in sales of portable players since 2020 can be attributed entirely to the huge boom that has been seen in demand for wireless speakers. While demand in all other categories of portable players has…

Retail volume sales of mobile phones are expected to grow over 2023, albeit due solely to smartphones. Before the onset of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the rate of growth in retail volume sales of smartphones had been slowing, in spite of the…

2023 saw a continuation of the negative volume growth that was registered in mobile phones in Argentina in 2022. However, sales declines were more moderate during 2023 and this negative growth trend can be seen at least partially as a reaction to the…

The downward trajectory in retail volume sales of in-car entertainment predated the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related restrictions on travel and consumer movement in general. The negative results in terms of demand continued…

2023 saw in-car navigation record yet another double-digit drop in volume sales as category sales declined further towards vanishing point. The use of dedicated devices designed especially for GPS navigation while driving is now extremely rare in…

Retail volume sales of imaging devices are in long-term decline in Mexico, as local consumers are increasingly happy to use their smartphones to take photos and record video. The image quality of smartphones is steadily improving, with many of the…

The pressure on household incomes due to the very high inflation that has plagued Argentinian society for some time continued to discourage consumers from investing in imaging devices during 2023. However, economic uncertainty and the erosion of…

Overall, retail volume sales of home video are set to continue to decrease strongly over 2023. However, there remains a sharp divergence between the performance of televisions and video players. The strong growth in demand for OLED TVs is offset by…

Televisions continued to account for virtually all sales in home video in Argentina in 2023. The very positive volume growth that was recorded in televisions in 2022 continued into 2023; however, by the middle of the year, the category was…

During 2020 and 2021, the demand for home audio and cinema was supported by the exigencies of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which saw consumers fall back on the home for entertainment purposes. As consumers worked, studied and entertained…

During 2023, demand for home audio and cinema remained on a downtrends trend. Volume sales have been falling in the category for many years, although 2020 was an exception as the strict approach taken to social distancing and home seclusion at the…

Retail volume sales and current value sales of headphones are set to continue to grow over 2023, and at their fastest rates of the review period. During 2020 and 2021, the demand for headphones was strongly supported by the fact that many more people…

2023 saw volume sales of headphones in Argentina increase for the fifth consecutive year. The main reason for the strong positive sales performances being seen in headphones is rising consumer demand for TWS earbuds. Despite wireless headbands and…

In general, consumer electronics continued to be affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in the final year of the review period. There was a level of stabilisation in many categories in 2022 and 2023, especially those that had seen spikes in…

Consumer spending generally remained under pressure in Argentina during 2023. Suppressed commercial activity flowed from an even worse economic performance than what had been expected at the beginning of the year. The main issues include stubbornly…

Retail volume sales of computers and peripherals are projected to continue to decrease over 2023, after the spike recorded in the wake of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, when consumers were forced to fall back on the home…

Computers registered further double-digit volume sales declines in 2023 after very strong performances in the category during 2020 and 2021, followed by falling demand in 2022. The three constituent categories of computers – desktops, laptops and…

In 2023, wearable electronics is seeing modest growth in retail volume terms, thanks to the resumption of physical activities in gyms and public spaces post-pandemic. Wearables are now regarded as an important training aid and they can also track…

Wearable electronics in Chile is set to continue to see solid retail volume growth and dynamic current value growth in 2023, as consumer awareness and penetration increase. Despite seeing a deceleration of growth in 2022 and 2023 compared with the…

In Brazil, wearable electronics has exhibited remarkable resilience in terms of volume growth, even amidst a challenging economic environment characterised by high inflation. Despite the rising costs of living and the overall impact on consumers’…

Wireless speakers is driving growth in portable players in 2023. The key factors behind this are connectivity, portability, and specific functions such as voice assistants. Wireless speakers can synch with multiple smart devices – a must-have in…

Portable players is set to return to growth in both retail volume and current value terms in 2023. This growth will mainly be driven by the largest category, wireless speakers. Despite seeing a decline in 2022, caused by the exceptional growth in…

Wireless speakers is set to continue its aggressive growth trajectory amongst the Brazilian population in 2023, representing a dynamic shift in the way that people consume and enjoy audio content. With their seamless connectivity and wireless…

Smartphones continues to see a decline volume sales in Columbia in 2023, in tandem with the pressure on consumer purchasing power. The strong devaluation of the Colombian peso against the dollar has made these products more expensive, and this is…

Extraordinary growth was experienced by mobile phones during the pandemic, when consumers had access to more money, given the help from the government, and the withdrawal of part of pension funds. In a year of normalisation, 2022 saw a significant…

The global economic crisis and its ripple effects in Brazil led to decreases in both retail volume and current value terms for mobile phones in 2022, and this is set to continue in 2023. As consumers have tightened their belts and prioritised their…

In-car entertainment in Colombia is seeing double-digit volume decline in 2023 as these products become ever more obsolete as the technology and functionality of smartphones improves. Most smartphones currently available have a preinstalled…

The historical decrease in volume sales caused by the advance of technology and the popularisation of smartphones as an entertainment centre is expected to continue to hit in-car entertainment in Chile in 2023. Nevertheless, high inflation is set to…

Retail volume sales of in-car entertainment decreased in 2022, and this trend is set to continue in 2023, as other products have been becoming more popular to meet such demand. Meanwhile, retail current value sales increased in 2022, a trend which is…

In 2023, a decline in consumer purchasing power amid rising inflation and the devaluation of the Colombian peso in relation to the dollar is impacting sales of imaging devices, though not to the same extent as other consumer electronics. The biggest…

In 2023, the increase in mobility after the pandemic ended is set to help decelerate the retail volume decline that imaging devices had been suffering, as consumers have returned to enjoying life outdoors. Nevertheless, the substitution trend pushed…

The rapid advance of technology has led to a significant decline in the popularity of and demand for imaging devices, as they are gradually being replaced by smartphones. With their ever-improving camera capabilities, smartphones have become the…

Retail volume sales of home video declined in 2023, as local consumers faced significant constraints on household spending in the wake of rising inflation and low economic growth. Additionally, in the 12 months from March 2022 to March 2023, the…

Home video experienced strong retail volume growth during the pandemic in 2021, when consumers had the opportunity to increase their discretionary expenditure, given the withdrawal from pension funds and direct government help. However, with most…

Home video in Brazil has been badly affected by global price increases, especially considering high inflation in Brazil, which contributed to the decline of the category in 2022 (and also expected in 2023) even as it experienced a temporary sales…

The decline of home audio and cinema in 2023 is due to its inability to compete with wireless devices with greater technology and functionality. Colombian consumers are increasingly familiar with smart systems, which has led to home audio and cinema…

There is a continued high consumer focus on improving life in the home, which is a residual effect of the pandemic, which led Chileans to purchase consumer electronics to make their lives at home more comfortable. Nevertheless, home audio and cinema…

Consumers in general are no longer interested in most of the categories within home audio and cinema, with practically all of them seeing double-digit declines in both retail volume and current value terms in 2022, and this is set to continue in…

Although wireless headbands and TWS earbuds performed well in 2023, sales in these subcategories have not been enough to offset macro category decline.

Headphones is set to return to minimal growth in 2023, after seeing a slight retail volume decline in 2022, although continuous growth has been seen in current value terms due to price rises. The strong positive volume performance during the pandemic…

Headphones experienced dynamic retail volume growth in Brazil in 2022, and this is set to continue in 2023, driven primarily by the increasing popularity of True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds and, to a lesser extent, wireless headbands. As more…

2022 into 2023 has been difficult for consumer electronics in Colombia, with a contraction in both volume and current value sales. Internal and external factors influenced shrinkage in many categories. Among the most significant was the fact that,…

In 2022, most pandemic restrictions were lifted, and a strong negative impact was seen on volume sales of consumer electronics in Chile, with decline set to continue in 2023, although at a slower rate. These declines have been caused by a fall in…