Fashion
Singaporeans’ thirst to be online has seen sales of connected gadgets more than double in just five years.
While the connected devices sector in Singapore was valued at only USD 950 million five years ago, it has expanded to more than US$1.8 billion in 2014, according to research house GfK.
‘Connected devices’ comprise of 20 wireless and connected electronic/digital products tracked by GfK in Singapore, including computers, internet TVs, smart cameras, PC accessories, headphones, headsets, routers and also the latest gadgets – smart watches and health fitness trackers.
The growth is being powered by Singapore’s affluent and well-developed internet infrastructure, says Gerard Tan, account director for Digital World at GfK.
“In line with the country’s high internet usage and technology adoption rate, wireless devices with internet connectivity have been growing every year from 2010 to 2013, registering an additional 3.1 million devices sold within this four year span.
“On the other hand, our sophisticated society is less interested in non-connected devices, with steep falling demand year after year since 2012.”
Sales reached a peak in 2013 with consumers splurging more than USD 2.1 billion on over 5.2 million connected devices, following which market saturation led to a slowdown in the 2014. By comparison, non-connected, wired devices within the same product categories witnessed an even steeper decline of 29 per cent in value, considerably higher compared to the 15 per cent fall registered in the connected segment.
In spite of overall decrease in consumer demand, some connected gadgets continued to register growth in 2014, including smart watches, health fitness trackers, phablets, wireless printing devices, smart cameras, and loudspeaker soundbars. The top three fastest growing connected devices in Singapore last year were docking/mini-speakers, phablets and loudspeakers/soundbars at 162, 60 and 55 per cent increased sales respectively over 2014. Despite the easing in sales, manufacturers are launching more new models of connected devices. According to GfK findings, the number of market offerings across all products rose by 15 per cent to hit 4920 – a strong indication of the positive market sentiment going forward.
“The soaring popularity of this market means we can anticipate more of such products being launched, and the introduction of more new and exciting features, for instance, the function of easy syncing across different products,” said Tan.
“With today’s heavy reliance on the internet, it becomes even more essential for modern technology to be equipped with the connectivity feature,” he concluded.
