Danawa Sees Premium Earphone Spending Rise as Mature Market Slows
TECHWORLD ·
✦ AI Summary
ConnectWave said in its analysis of the earphone market from August 9 to September 7 that the market has entered a mature phase and growth has slowed.
During the period, total transaction value fell 7.2% from a year earlier, while premium products priced at more than KRW 200,000 rose 42.8% and entry models priced under KRW 30,000 rose 27.3%.
The share of midrange products priced at KRW 30,000 to under KRW 200,000 fell from 53% to 28.6%, and the actual sales rankings were Apple AirPods Pro 3 in first place, Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Buds4 Pro in second, and Anker Soundcore P31i D1202 in third.
ConnectWave, which operates the price-comparison service Danawa, said recent growth in the earphone market has slowed as the market entered a mature phase, based on analysis by Danawa's Digital/Video Team of the earphone category. The analysis period was August 9 to September 7.
During that period, total transaction value in the earphone category fell 7.2% from a year earlier. Danawa analyzed this as the result of the earphone market entering a mature stage, which reduced overall transaction value.
By price range, however, spending was concentrated in certain segments. Transaction value for premium products priced at more than KRW 200,000 rose 42.8%, while transaction value for entry models priced under KRW 30,000 increased 27.3%. Among premium products, transaction value for premium models priced at KRW 200,000 to under KRW 300,000 rose 28%, and transaction value for products priced at more than KRW 300,000 climbed 106%, indicating that growth strengthened as prices rose.
As a result, premium earphones emerged as the main focus of consumer spending. The premium earphone share rose 22.4 percentage points, from 41.5% last year to 63.9% this year. The entry-model share also rose 2 percentage points year over year to 7.5%. Danawa said premium-focused spending expanded even as the market slowed.
In the earphone market, the share of midrange products priced at KRW 30,000 to under KRW 200,000 fell 24.4 percentage points, from 53% to 28.6%. As the share of midrange products declined sharply, Danawa said demand appears to have been split between the two price extremes.
Danawa said demand shifted from midrange products, where feature differentiation has narrowed, to premium products with advanced features. It also said some entry-level products now support noise canceling and other functions, improving their value for money and affecting changes in demand.
Actual sales rankings were presented as evidence supporting this trend. Based on Danawa's rankings, Apple AirPods Pro 3 placed first, Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Buds4 Pro ranked second, and the entry-level Anker Soundcore P31i D1202 came in third.
Kim Woo-jung, head of Danawa's Digital/Video Team, said the earphone market has entered a mature phase. Kim added that demand is increasing for high-performance premium products and high-value entry-level products.
Kim said the demand gap with midrange products that offer weak differentiation is expected to widen. He also forecast intensified competition across price segments.
Source: TECHWORLD · Lee Gwang-jae
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=407114
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Source: TECHWORLD
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