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Mobile Phone and Tablet Accessories - US - April 2015

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Definition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The issues
Premium brands not qualifying for premium purchases
Figure 1: Familiarity with brands and willingness to pay a premium for them, December 2014
Fatigue
Figure 2: Average spend on mobile accessories, by device, December 2014
Intent to purchase limited
Figure 3: Intent to purchase (selected) accessories, December 2014
Memory cards, mono headsets, and hotspots facing challenges
Headphones cannibalize sales of other audio equipment
Figure 4: Sales of audio equipment, 2009-14
The opportunities
Market far from saturated
Figure 5: Usage of selected accessories, December 2014
Leveraging brand equity
Figure 6: Preference for selected accessory brands, December 2014
Smartphone and tablet adoption ongoing
Focusing on fashion
Figure 7: Interest in stylish accessories, December 2014
The young professional
Figure 8: Spend on mobile accessories, by demographics, December 2014
What it means
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Rapid growth from 2009-14
Slower growth expected ahead
Surge for headphones
Variety of categories imperiled
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Sales blossom at CAGR of 10.1%
More limited growth seen ahead
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
Headphones surge
Portable audio in decline
Figure 11: Total US retail sales of mobile phone and tablet accessories, by segment, at current prices, 2012-14
MARKET PERSPECTIVE
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
Mobile phone and tablet sales
Phone and tablet lifespan
Mobile entertainment and audio equipment
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
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
Figure 14: Decreased spending on mobile accessories, December 2014
Gifting
Figure 15: Gift purchasing (for children or adults), December 2014
KEY PLAYERS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Awareness leads to preference
Phone and tablet manufacturer brands preferred
Premiums a difficult sell
WHAT’S WORKING?
Awareness drives favorable preferences
Figure 16: Familiarity with and preferences for select accessory brands*, December 2014
WHAT’S STRUGGLING?
Most buyers unwilling to pay a premium
Figure 17: Familiarity with select brands* and willingness to pay a premium, December 2014
Preference for phone/tablet manufacturer
Figure 18: Preference for phone/tablet accessory manufacturer, December 2014
Commoditization as a result of positive experience
Figure 19: Perceptions of quality and historical difficulty with accessories, December 2014
Quality: An unnecessary perk?
WHAT’S NEXT?
Rising tide for keyboards
Design
Figure 20: Interest in stylish accessories, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
Figure 21: Toastmade wood phone case, March 2015
Figure 22: Inkcase e-ink phone case, March 2015
Figure 23: Wearefriends earbuds and headphones, March 2015
Custom-fit and activity-specific headphones
Indestructability
Figure 24: Tendency of dropping of mobile devices and accessories, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
Figure 25: Lifeproof phone case, March 2015
Photography accessories
Gaming accessories
Crossover devices
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
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
Cases, cards, chargers and buds most commonly used
Figure 26: Usage And intent to purchase, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
Younger adults drive sales
Figure 27: AUDIO EQUIPMENT USED WITH MOBILE DEVICES, BY DEMOGRAPHICS, DECEMBER 2014
Figure 28: INTENT TO PURCHASE HEADSETS/AUDIO EQUIPMENT, BY DEMOGRAPHICS, DECEMBER 2014
Figure 29: Ownership Of Selected Products Crossed By Ownership, December 2014
SPENDING ON ACCESSORIES
Smartphone owners spend three times more than feature phone owners
Figure 30: Mean spend on mobile accessories, by demographics, December 2014
25-34 year olds, young men top spenders
Figure 31: Spend on mobile accessories, by demographics, December 2014
Figure 32: Spend on accessories for most recently purchased feature phone, by age, December 2014
SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
Brick-and-mortar still thriving
Figure 33: Online shopping and impulse shopping, by Hispanic origin, December 2014
Buyers reading reviews online
TIMING OF PURCHASES
One primary sales opp. per device
Figure 34: Purchase of accessories at time of initial purchase of phone or tablet, December 2014
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Sales data
Fan chart forecast
Consumer survey data
Consumer qualitative research
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
APPENDIX – MARKET
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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