Home Audio Segment Goes From Strength to Strength: Futuresource Consulting

LONDON, August 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Worldwide home audio shipments are on the up, according to a new quarterly research programme from Futuresource Consulting. The latest Q1 report shows that the market for home audio - Integrated Audio Systems (IAS), Wireless Speakers and Soundbars - only declined 10% in Q1 2014 after the strong holiday season in Q4 2013.

"Wireless connectivity continues to remain an important feature as the share of wireless products increased from 74% in Q4 2013 to 79% in Q1 2014," says Rasika Iyer, Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. "The share of Bluetooth remains dominant at 82% of overall wireless audio shipments as soundbars and IAS models increasingly feature Bluetooth as a basic functionality in audio products."

Wireless speakers shipped six million units in Q1 2014 and accounted for 55% of global shipments and grew by 11% in Q1 2014 vs Q4 2013.

As the home audio market develops, Futuresource research indicates that soundbars and wireless speaker prices start to drop through to 2018, however IAS prices will remain relatively flat during the same time period. As the market continues to fluctuate, Futuresource will look to explore the different business opportunities within the music and audio arena at a half day event in London in October, further details below.

"North America is the largest region, 33% larger than the next largest, the Asia Pacific region. The Asia Pacific region was notable due to a substantial increase in shipments in Q1 2014 from Q4 2013, up more than 50%, a complete contrast to the other regions," says Iyer. "This is due to a large audio vendor shipping huge quantities for a new product launch."

Looking forward, Q4 shipments are set to increase from 17.3 million units in 2014 to 33.5 million units in 2018, with wireless speakers accounting for 22.9 million units.

The Audio Renaissance: A new event exploring the business opportunities within music and audio, and bringing together key industry influencers to discuss the services, hardware and content plays that will shape the future landscape. The event will take place in London on the 23^rd October 2014. For more information, please click here>>

This is latest update report published as part of the Futuresource quarterly Home Audio Tracker service. This 13 page report and accompanying data sheet focuses on the key trends and performance characteristics of the market for Q1 2014, as well as looking beyond to 2018.

Notes

Futuresource Consulting is a specialist research and knowledge-based consulting company, providing organisations with insight into consumer electronics, digital imaging, entertainment media, broadcast, storage media, education technology and IT. With a heritage stretching back to the 1980s, the company delivers in-depth analysis and forecasts on a global scale, advising on strategic positioning, market trends, competitive forces and technological developments. http://www.futuresource-consulting.com.

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SOURCE Futuresource Consulting