IDC: The sales volume of Bluetooth earphones in China is expected to reach approximately 85.52 million units in 2023, representing a year-on-year growth of 7.5%.

On March 4, according to data released by IDC, the sales volume of Bluetooth headsets in China in 2023 is expected to be around 85.52 million units, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Among them, the sales volume of true wireless earphones is 60.9 million units, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. IDC believes that the development structure of the true wireless market in 2023 mainly shows two characteristics: first, the average price is falling; second, the proportion of semi-in-ear products is increasing. Specifically, as technology solutions mature and costs decrease, the average price of true wireless market has dropped to 365 RMB (excluding tax), a decrease of 11.2% year-on-year. In addition, the lack of innovative functions driving premium prices is also one of the reasons for the gradual decline in prices. As the demand for active noise-cancelling products gradually saturates, sales of in-ear products remain stable, while sales of semi-in-ear products have increased by 16% year-on-year, accounting for nearly 40%, an increase of nearly 4 percentage points. This reflects changes in user preferences towards semi-in-ear products. Especially with the proliferation of immersive and fragmented audio applications like short videos and live streaming, users are spending a lot of time wearing headphones, leading to an increase in demand for product comfort. The increasing demand for comfort further catalyzes the rapid development of another niche market, open-back headphones. In 2023, sales of open-back headphones reached 6.52 million units, an increase of 130.2% year-on-year. The rise of this market has to some extent diverted consumers from true wireless and neckband headphones, reflecting changing consumer preferences, as well as providing more room for technological innovation and premium pricing. In 2024, the Bluetooth earphone market will mainly see the following three trends: 1. The open-back headphone market will continue to grow, leading to a polarization of the market Open-back headphones mainly consist of bone conduction and air conduction technologies, with air conduction being divided into ear-hook and ear-clip forms. In the future, there will be more open-back products below 500 RMB (excluding tax). Ear-hook air conduction products will mainly focus on the below 500 RMB and around 1000 RMB markets. Following the launch of Huawei's FreeClip, ear-clip air conduction products are also entering a polarized era, mainly concentrating on the lower and higher price segments. 2. Shifts in product pricing by smartphone manufacturers will become more pronounced To counter the intense price competition from local audio manufacturers and the white-label market, smartphone manufacturers are lowering the prices of their true wireless products. In 2023, smartphone manufacturers accounted for 32% of the sales of true wireless products below 200 RMB (excluding tax), an increase of 7 percentage points year-on-year. This trend will continue in 2024, further accelerating the market price decline. 3. Diversification of sales channels will become more pronounced With significant price reductions and the gradual sinking of target markets, the online sales channels for true wireless products will expand to include e-commerce platforms like Douyin and Pinduoduo. In addition, as an important channel for the white-label market, more flexible e-commerce channels like social commerce and group buying will continue to develop. Additionally, smartphone manufacturers' strong offline channel capabilities and bundled sales policies for smartphone products will provide fertile ground for their future development of low-priced products. Pan Xuefei, Assistant Research Director at IDC China, believes that the Bluetooth earphone market will continue to grow in 2024, presenting opportunities as well as significant challenges. Growth opportunities primarily lie in the open-back market and entry-level true wireless market. Challenges mainly refer to balancing low-price stimulation and revenue growth. Therefore, the market's long-term growth curve mainly depends on two aspects: expanding sales channels and developing high-end or innovative products to stabilize operating profits based on the trend of price decline. Open-back products will become the main driving force for the development of the Bluetooth earphone market in the next two years. In terms of comfort, sound transmission accuracy, and other sensor technology integration, products may create higher technological barriers and premium pricing opportunities. Additionally, smartphone manufacturers are increasingly bundling Bluetooth earphones with smartphones through promotional bundles and packaging, leveraging the smartphone channel space to provide more sales growth opportunities.