The wireless earphone market continues to grow. The market is divided by type, such as "canal type", "completely wireless type", and "clip type". Among these, the one that continues to increase in sales is the canal type that pushes the earpiece into the ear canal like earplugs, and the left and right housing parts are connected by a cable. We analyzed the trends of the entire wireless earphone market, where demand is increasing, and the current state of the canal type, which occupies the core of the market. First, we calculated the composition ratio of the sales volume and sales amount of wireless earphones to the total earphones (Fig. 1). The wireless volume ratio, which was 16.6% in June 2016, increased to 40.3% in June 2018, two years later. The amount ratio has also increased rapidly from 26.8% to 70.1%. It shows that the mainstream earphone market is already shifting to wireless. Next, looking at the quantity ratio by type of wireless, we can see that the trend has changed significantly in the last two years (Fig. 2). Until the summer of 2016, the clip type occupies about two-thirds. Most of them were products with only one ear, and products that mainly used telephone calls were the mainstream. After that, sales of the canal type and the completely wireless type gradually increased, and the composition ratio of both types increased by more than 20 points compared to two years ago. In particular, the canal type has jumped into the leading role by occupying 50% of wireless since the beginning of 2018. The reasons why the canal type and the completely wireless type have made a leap forward are (1) the number of people listening to music on smartphones is increasing, and (2) the iPhone series, which accounts for about half of the total in Japan, is 7/7 Plus (released in September 2016). ) After that, the earphone jack will be abolished. Most of the products are worn on both ears, and it can be said that many users purchase them to listen to music on their smartphones. It can be seen that the canal type, which has taken the leading role, is fiercely competing only in the growing genre, and the competition for share is intensifying (Fig. 3). Two years ago, it competed for the top with ELECOM and Sony, but from the latter half of 2016, it continued to run alone with the strength of ELECOM's abundant lineup and affordable price range. However, with the release of the iPhone 8/8 Plus in September 2017, each company focused on the canal type, and the number of products increased sharply. In recent months, 6 companies have been crowded with a volume share of around 10%, and the situation has been chaotic. Another notable breakthrough in wireless is the sharp rise in average unit prices. The unit price, which was in the 4000 yen range two years ago, is now in the 8000 yen range. In addition to mere wireless, incorporating various needs such as sound quality, design, and waterproofing has led to a doubling of the unit price. In order to secure the initiative, it is inevitable that new added value will be required. (BCN Analyst Wataru Yamaguchi) * "BCN Ranking" is an actual sales database that collects and aggregates actual sales data of PCs, digital home appliances, etc. from major home electronics mass retailers and online shops nationwide every day. It covers about 40% of the market (in the case of personal computers).
