Wireless Earphone Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Near Field Communication (NFC)), By Application (Entertainment & Music, Gaming & Virtual Reality, Fitness), By Distribution Channel (Specialty Stores, Online Stores, Brand Stores, Others) And Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Earphones are widely used for listening to music and playing video games. People prefer to use earbuds over headphones as earbuds can be easily fitted into any size of the user’s ear. Earphones are widely available in different colors and shapes. Noise-cancelling feature-based earphones are popular among video gamers, as they can effectively hear sound while playing video games with the help of such products.

Nowadays, companies are focusing on adapting celebrity endorsement strategies in their marketing campaigns to increase their customer reach for these kinds of products. For instance, in January 2020, Shure Incorporated, an American audio product-related corporation, partnered with singer Adam Levine to launch a new marketing campaign for its noise cancellation feature-based headphones and wireless earphones in America. This campaign effectively helped the company in targeting its audio devices to the music industry professionals in America. 

Technology up-gradation in the design of the different kinds of electronic products such as headsets, earbuds, smart glasses, and others is likely to attract the users towards buying such newer kinds of products which thereby, drive the market growth. Additionally, rising awareness regarding the availability of the different kinds of consumer wearables coupled with changing fashion trends is further likely to support the demand for such kind of fashionable wireless earphones.

Nowadays, during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are more likely to spend their time in their houses due to the imposition of various lockdown restrictions by the government in many countries across the globe. This in turn, is expected to favor the demand for the different kinds of indoor leisure activities such as watching televisions, listening to music, playing video games, cooking, and others among the people which thereby, drive the market growth.

Besides this, the rising demand for smartphones and laptop devices is further likely to support the consumption rate of such products among people across the globe. According to the data presented by the International Monetary Fund, in 2019, nearly 1371.1 million units of smartphones were shipped for their sales across the globe.

However, regular necessities of the recharging of the wireless earphone devices over to that of the wired headphones are anticipated to restrain the market growth. Additionally, large competition from the local industry players is expected to hamper the sales revenues of the prominent industry players.   

Key Players Covered:

The key players involved in the global wireless earphone market are Apple Inc., Philips Koninklijke N.V., Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, The Samsung Group, Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG, Skullcandy Inc., Shure Incorporated, Zevva Electronics Pvt. Ltd., U&I, RHA Technologies, Plantronics Inc., Harman International, and others.

The global wireless earphone market is segmented based on technology, applications, distribution channel, and geography.

Based on technology, the market is segmented into Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Near Field Communication (NFC). The Bluetooth segment is expected to exhibit a major share of the market as users can hear the high-quality sound of the music with the help of codec technology-based Bluetooth earphones over to that of the other types. Additionally, users are least likely to suffer from latency while listening to sound from mobile devices with Bluetooth earphones compared to that of other types. This results in larger revenues from such a segment.

By application, the global market is segmented into entertainment & music, gaming & virtual reality, and fitness. Entertainment & music segment is expected to hold a major share of the market owing to the large consumer spending for the various kinds of music and entertainment related services for their regular entertainment needs. This results in the large consumption of the earphones to consume these services. Additionally, people largely prefer to listen to songs to relax their minds. This, in turn, resulted in higher revenues from such kind of segment.

The global market is segmented into specialty stores, online stores, brand stores, and others by distribution channel. The specialty stores segment is expected to exhibit a significant share of the market as users can purchase earphones of their choice from the set of the wide variety of the branded earphones available at these stores. Additionally, the provision of discounts and coupons by these stores is likely to attract the users towards buying such products from the specialty stores, which thereby drive segmental growth.

Regional Analysis:

By geography, the global wireless earphone market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa.

The largest share of the North American region is attributed to a large number of video gamers in the countries such as the United States and Canada which thereby, results in the large consumption of wireless gaming earphones among these gamers in the region. According to the data presented by the Entertainment Software Association, in 2018, 61% of the Canadian population are video gamers. Additionally, rising indoor leisure trends, including the various activities such as video gaming, listening to songs, watching videos, and others among the population, is further driving market growth in the region. 

The fastest growth of the Asia Pacific region is attributed to the rising smartphone penetration rate in countries such as China and India, which, thereby, likely to fuel the demand for wireless earphones among the population in the region. According to the data presented by the GSM Association, as of 2019, 71% of Mainland China’s population uses smartphone devices and is expected to increase to 89% by 2025. Additionally, rising awareness regarding the availability of different kinds of electronic devices and accessories among the middle-income group of population in the region is fuelling the growth of the market in the region.

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments:

• In September 2020, CEVA Inc., a leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies partnered with Visisonics, a developer of patented 3D special audio technologies to develop 3D special audio solution based wireless audio earbuds, headphones, and other hearables.


• In June 2020, EarFun Inc., a specialized start-up company in the audio products space launched EarFun Air, a waterproof, sweatshield technology-based wireless earbud at the CES 2020 innovation summit.