Surging demand continues to spur overall market value of laptops, media tablets, and smartphones
31 May 2013, Hong Kong – In today’s highly-connected and increasingly mobile society, it has become almost a necessity for modern consumers in developed markets to have round-the-clock access to at least one of the three screens— laptop, media tablet and smartphone. Consumers have been keen to adopt these digital technologies in Hong Kong over the recent years, with the latest quarter registering a surge of 6 percent in volume sales over the same quarter a year ago.
In the first three months of 2013, over 2 million units of the three devices were snapped up in the country—an additional 107,000 units compared to last year, according to GfK retail tracking in Hong Kong. The total sales of laptops, media tablets and smartphones garnered combined revenue of over USD1.1 billion during this period of time.
“Portable smart devices are essential must-haves for urban dwellers constantly on the move and leading fast-paced lifestyles in today’s digital age,” observed Walter Leung, Managing Director for GfK in Hong Kong.
“Especially in a developed and affluent country such as Hong Kong where infrastructure is already well laid out, it is not surprising for individuals to own all three devices, and households to own several units of each device.”
Among these three devices, media tablets was the main growth engine, turning in the best performance with a twofold (98%) demand surge compared to the same time period last year. Consumers in Hong Kong spent over USD 216 million on nearly 480,000 units in the first three months of 2013.
It is however the smartphones which registered the highest sales volume, accounting for 7 in every 10 devices or over 1.4 million units sold in quarter one. GfK findings revealed an apparent rising take-up of smartphones with screen size of over 4.5 inch, which jumped by some 30 percent in market share since a year ago
Meanwhile, over 114,000 laptops were sold—a slight decline from last year although there is a particular segment which is registering heightening sales—the 11 inch laptops. Within a span of six months, the share of this segment has risen from 11 to 15 percent, driven largely by the rising popularity of hybrid PCs, defined as models which comes equipped with the touchscreen feature and detachable keyboards
“There is definitely strong competition among these three screens as some of their functions and features are similar and have the tendency to overlap; and yet there are well-defined boundaries which make each of the three screens unique and stand out on its own,” said Leung. “We anticipate the three screens to carry on being the key drivers in the technology sector; as demand for media tablets is sustained and big display smartphones as well as hybrid PCs continue to gain traction to push sales to a higher level.”
About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, around 13,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2012, GfK’s sales amounted to €1.51 billion.
To find out more, visit www.gfk.com