Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The issues
- Premium brands not qualifying for premium purchases
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- Figure 1: Familiarity with brands and willingness to pay a premium for them, December 2014
- Fatigue
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- Figure 2: Average spend on mobile accessories, by device, December 2014
- Intent to purchase limited
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- Figure 3: Intent to purchase (selected) accessories, December 2014
- Memory cards, mono headsets, and hotspots facing challenges
- Headphones cannibalize sales of other audio equipment
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- Figure 4: Sales of audio equipment, 2009-14
- The opportunities
- Market far from saturated
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- Figure 5: Usage of selected accessories, December 2014
- Leveraging brand equity
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- Figure 6: Preference for selected accessory brands, December 2014
- Smartphone and tablet adoption ongoing
- Focusing on fashion
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- Figure 7: Interest in stylish accessories, December 2014
- The young professional
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- Figure 8: Spend on mobile accessories, by demographics, December 2014
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Rapid growth from 2009-14
- Slower growth expected ahead
- Surge for headphones
- Variety of categories imperiled
Market Size and Forecast
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- Sales blossom at CAGR of 10.1%
- More limited growth seen ahead
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- Figure 9: Total US retail sales and fan chart forecast of mobile phone and tablet accessories, at current prices, 2009-19
- Figure 10: Total US retail sales and forecast of mobile phone and tablet accessories, at current prices, 2009-19
Market Breakdown
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- Headphones surge
- Portable audio in decline
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- Figure 11: Total US retail sales of mobile phone and tablet accessories, by segment, at current prices, 2012-14
Market Perspective
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- Upgrades to carry more limited returns
- New technology reduces need for accessories
- Smartphones jeopardize mobile hotspots
- Memory cards in triple jeopardy
- Integration in cars reduces demand for headsets, connectivity solutions
- Rugged phones
Market Factors
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- Mobile phone and tablet sales
- Phone and tablet lifespan
- Mobile entertainment and audio equipment
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- Figure 12: Audio equipment ownership among smartphone and tablet owners, December 2014
- Tablet penetration still gaining steam
- Phablets: Short-term gains
- Slow growth for streaming on mobile devices
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- Figure 13: Use of streaming music, streaming video, and gaming on mobile devices, July 2013 and June 2014
- Mantle of innovation to fall on accessories
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- Figure 14: Decreased spending on mobile accessories, December 2014
- Gifting
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- Figure 15: Gift purchasing (for children or adults), December 2014
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Awareness leads to preference
- Phone and tablet manufacturer brands preferred
- Premiums a difficult sell
What’s Working?
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- Awareness drives favorable preferences
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- Figure 16: Familiarity with and preferences for select accessory brands*, December 2014
What’s Struggling?
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- Most buyers unwilling to pay a premium
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- Figure 17: Familiarity with select brands* and willingness to pay a premium, December 2014
- Preference for phone/tablet manufacturer
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- Figure 18: Preference for phone/tablet accessory manufacturer, December 2014
- Commoditization as a result of positive experience
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- Figure 19: Perceptions of quality and historical difficulty with accessories, December 2014
- Quality: An unnecessary perk?
What’s Next?
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- Rising tide for keyboards
- Design
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- Figure 20: Interest in stylish accessories, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
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- Figure 21: Toastmade wood phone case, March 2015
- Figure 22: Inkcase e-ink phone case, March 2015
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- Figure 23: Wearefriends earbuds and headphones, March 2015
- Custom-fit and activity-specific headphones
- Indestructability
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- Figure 24: Tendency of dropping of mobile devices and accessories, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
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- Figure 25: Lifeproof phone case, March 2015
- Photography accessories
- Gaming accessories
- Crossover devices
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Cases, car chargers, audio top categories
- Impulse purchasing as important as planned purchases
- 25-34s top spenders
- Majority purchase all accessories when phone/tablet is purchased
Ownership and Intent to Purchase
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- Cases, cards, chargers and buds most commonly used
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- Figure 26: Usage And intent to purchase, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
- Younger adults drive sales
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- Figure 27: AUDIO EQUIPMENT USED WITH MOBILE DEVICES, BY DEMOGRAPHICS, DECEMBER 2014
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- Figure 28: INTENT TO PURCHASE HEADSETS/AUDIO EQUIPMENT, BY DEMOGRAPHICS, DECEMBER 2014
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- Figure 29: Ownership Of Selected Products Crossed By Ownership, December 2014
Spending on Accessories
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- Smartphone owners spend three times more than feature phone owners
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- Figure 30: Mean spend on mobile accessories, by demographics, December 2014
- 25-34 year olds, young men top spenders
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- Figure 31: Spend on mobile accessories, by demographics, December 2014
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- Figure 32: Spend on accessories for most recently purchased feature phone, by age, December 2014
Shopping Behavior
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- Brick-and-mortar still thriving
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- Figure 33: Online shopping and impulse shopping, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
- Buyers reading reviews online
Timing of Purchases
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- One primary sales opp. per device
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- Figure 34: Purchase of accessories at time of initial purchase of phone or tablet, December 2014
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Market
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- Figure 35: Total US retail sales and fan chart forecast of mobile phone and tablet accessories, at inflation adjusted prices, 2009-19
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