According to IT industry association Bitkom, smartphones, tablets and so-called wearables are currently boosting sales in consumer electronics. Smartphones alone, with an estimated 25.56 million devices sold this year, will achieve growth of 7.3 percent and 9.1 billion euros in sales. By contrast, sales of classic consumer electronics such as flat-screen televisions are currently on the decline.
Bitkom presented at the IFA in Berlin this week (4 to 9 September) the latest forecasts from market data of GfK and EITO . Earlier, IFA's host electronics company gfu, in its semi-annual Cemix Index for smartphones, reported 17 percent revenue growth in the first half of 2015.
Sales of smartwatches and fitness trackers are projected to rise to 1.72 million units this year, earning manufacturers € 240 million in revenue. But smartwatches have only a small share with 645,000 pieces, but the expected revenue of 169.2 million euros is higher. "With their additional functions and intelligent sensors, wearables complement the smartphone perfectly," said Martin Börner, board member of Bitkom and manager of Samsung in Germany. The South Korean company had announced only on Monday evening with the Gear S2 a new model of its smartwatch.
According to a recent survey by gfu, three percent of people in Germany already own a smartwatch. 16 percent of respondents said they find such a watch interesting and are considering a purchase. Fitness trackers therefore use four percent, 15 percent intend to buy such a device. "The technology offers improved conditions for personal, individual-oriented health services," said Hans-Joachim Kamp, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu. It should not give the impression that health is determined by anonymous technique.
One of the big trends in consumer electronics, which is getting its big stage this week at IFA, is networking. According to Bitkom, the revenue share of networkable consumer electronics and privately used IT devices such as smartphones or tablets is expected to be 82 percent this year. Only 18 percent of the devices could not communicate with each other. "The future belongs to devices that consumers can network and control with their tablets and smartphones," Börner said.
