Wireless products have played a crucial role in ensuring the home audio market goes from strength to strength, with the share of wireless products increasing from 74 per cent for Q4 2013 to 79 per cent in Q1 2014.
Overall sales figures, after a strong holiday season in Q4 2013, showed this sector of the market – Integrated Audio Systems, wireless speakers and soundbars – decreased just 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, which is considered a solid performance compared to the peak holiday season.
In terms of the types of products selling, 82 per cent of overall wireless audio shipments featured Bluetooth as more products include the technology as a basic feature, while a total of six million wireless speakers were shipped during the period, 55 per cent of all shipments in this category.
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The prices of soundbars and wireless speakers are expected to fall over the next few years, says Futuresource, the result of a continually developing market. However, it's predicted that the price of Integrated Audio Systems - we're guessing that's pretty much any wireless audio system - will remain "relatively flat".
Futuresource has published the latest quarterly figures as part of its ongoing Home Audio Tracker study, which examines the primary trends and "performance characteristics" for the most recent three-month period and ahead until 2018.
