UK Headphones and Speakers Market Report 2023
Refurbished versions of former flagship earbuds are likely to appeal to Generation Z as they try to balance price and sound quality.
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- Key issues covered in this Report
- Products covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the headphones and speakers market
- Market outlook
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 1: type of headphones or earbuds owned, 2023
- Graph 2: brand of headphones or earbuds owned, 2023
- Graph 3: type of headphones or earbuds used most often, 2023
- Graph 4: most likely occasion to use headphones or earbuds, 2023
- Graph 5: type of speaker in household, 2023
- Graph 6: maximum price of headphones or speaker purchase, 2023
- Graph 7: attitudes towards branding, features and cost-of-living crisis on headphones and speaker purchases, 2023
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Market Dynamics
- Market size and performance
- Graph 8: value of headphones, earbuds and speakers market, 2017-23
- Graph 9: value of headphones and earbuds, 2017-23
- Graph 10: value of household speakers, 2017-23
- Market forecast
- Market drivers
- Graph 11: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 12: technology purchases during previous three months, 2023
- Graph 13: AI will make voice-controlled speakers better, 2023
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Companies and brands
- Market share for headphones and earbuds
- Graph 14: brand of headphones or earbuds owned, 2021 and 2023
- Graph 15: brand of headphones or earbuds owned by Younger Millennials, 2021-23
- Launch activity and innovation
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Brand Research
- Graph 16: brand preferences, 2023
- Graph 17: brand satisfaction, 2023
- Graph 18: brand recommendations, 2023
- Graph 19: please choose all brands you associate with each statement, 2023
- Graph 20: associations with Sonos, 2023
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Ownership of headphones and earbuds
- Graph 21: type of headphones or earbuds owned by Generation Z, 2021 vs 2023
- Ownership of home speakers
- Graph 22: types of speakers at home split by household income, 2023
- Uses of headphones and earbuds
- Graph 23: type of headphones or earbuds used most often, 2023
- Graph 24: most likely occasion to use headphones or earbuds crossed by using smart earbuds most frequently, 2023
- Graph 25: most likely occasion to use headphones or earbuds crossed by using wireless headphones most often, 2023
- Price of next headphones or speakers
- Graph 26: maximum price of headphones or speaker purchase, 2023
- Graph 27: maximum price for earbuds crossed by brand of headphones or earbuds owned, 2023
- Graph 28: maximum price of earbuds crossed by prioritising sustainability highly with technology purchases, 2023
- Attitudes towards headphones and speakers
- Graph 29: attitudes towards headphones and speakers, 2023
- Graph 30: preference of staying with the same earbud brand crossed by brand of headphones or earbuds, 2023
- Graph 31: prioritising sound quality over price crossed by owning Beats by Dre headphones or earbuds, 2023
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Appendix
- Data sources, abbreviations and supporting information
- Market size and central forecast methodology
Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s Headphones and Speakers Market Report 2023. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest trends and consumer behaviours affecting your industry. Get a 360° view of the UK speakers, earbuds and headphones market including market size, share and forecasted growth.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Issues Covered in this Report
- Types of headphones or earbuds owned and types of speakers in the household.
- Type of headphones or earbuds that consumers are most likely to use and on which occasions they use them.
- The impact of the cost of living crisis on purchases.
- How much people would be willing to spend on headphones, earbuds or speakers.
- Attitudes towards expert reviews and refurbished versions of these devices.
UK Headphones and Speakers Market Overview
The headphones and speakers market value is expected to grow to £1.4 billion in 2023, marking a 1.2% increase on the previous year. The market growth is driven by the popularity of wireless earbuds, which were consumers’ second highest priority technology purchases in the last three months, second only to smartphones.
UK Headphones and Speakers Market Trends and Opportunities
Gen Z has driven the shift away from wired earbuds to wireless. Refurbished earbuds are a key way to maximise on their interest in smart earbuds, as almost half Gen Z consumers would buy refurbished headphones or earbuds. Over three quarters of Gen Z think that sound quality of headphones and earbuds is more important than price. Therefore, refurbished versions of earbuds that used to be flagships are likely to appeal to them.
For more market opportunities and expert recommendations to secure future growth for your brand, purchase our full UK Headphones and Speakers Market Report. Readers of this report may also be interested in UK Sustainability in Technology Market Report.
More About this Report
This Report covers the UK market for headphones and earbuds, the type which you use to listen to music, radio, audiobooks, podcasts or other audio files. It covers wired headphones (eg Sennheiser HD 206), wireless headphones (eg Bose QuietComfort 45), fully wired earbuds (eg Apple EarPods), Bluetooth-based earbuds that have a wire connecting the two earbuds together (eg Powerbeats by Dre) and truly wireless earbuds (eg Apple AirPods). This Report also covers the UK market for speakers, both voice-controlled speakers (eg Amazon Echo, Google Nest) and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speakers without voice control (eg Bose SoundLink Flex). Soundbars for televisions are also included in the definition of speakers. This Report does not cover speakers as part of an in-car media system.
Expert Analysis from an Industry Specialist
This report, written by Zach Emmanuel, a leading Technology analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK Headphones and Speakers market and add expert context to the numbers.
Refurbished versions of former flagship earbuds are likely to appeal to Generation Z as they try to balance price and sound quality.
Zach Emmanuel
Technology Analyst
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