Growing Mobile Audio Markets

Bluetooth, Digital Radio and Sports – diverse growth segments are pushing the German market for mobile audio devices.

Market for Bluetooth Speakers continues to grow Bluetooth Speakers (i.e. Bluetooth Speakers without a physical docking solution or any other sound source) which allow the user to play music directly from his smartphone or tablet continue to conquer the German market: nearly 1.6 million devices were sold in the GfK panel market over the past twelve months (April 2014 to March 2015) – this corresponds to a growth rate of around 102 percent. An increasing number of manufacturers have launched colored Bluetooth Speakers leading to an overall growing market share for colored devices. Especially portable Bluetooth Speakers are not only used for their technical functions any more – they are more and more becoming fashion accessories.

Market for Radio Devices mainly driven by Bluetooth and Digital Radio After a strong end of year 2014 the market for Radio Devices continues to develop positively in the first quarter of 2015. Compared to the first quarter of 2014 the market grew by 10 percent in units. The growth in value was even more significant (14 percent). Main drivers of this good performance are devices with Bluetooth and Digital Radio.

Sports and Bluetooth are growth factors for Headphones and Mobile Stereo Headsets Similar to the already mentioned product groups, Bluetooth is a driving factor for the Headphones and Mobile Stereo Headsets market as well. The share of Bluetooth devices crossed the mark of 15 percent for the first time in December 2014 and kept this level in the following first quarter of 2015. This means that Bluetooth is now the most important wireless connection technology in the German market. Furthermore, the sports segment shows a very positive development: Compared to the same period in the previous year the units share nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2015, reaching a share level of six percent.

All in all, mobile audio entertainment seems to remain an exciting market.