The consumer electronics category contains huge opportunities to go overseas. Customs data shows that in China's cross-border export B2C market, consumer electronics categories have accounted for 21.8%. Among them, Anker Innovations and other leading consumer electronics brands have achieved remarkable growth. According to the financial report data, Anker Innovations' revenue in the first three quarters of 2023 increased by 23.59% to 11.79 billion yuan, and Transsion Holdings, which focuses on emerging markets such as Asia, Africa and Latin America, increased its revenue by 19.4% to 43.02 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2023.
According to the analysis of industry insiders, under the innovation and upgrading of supply-side products, the iteration of hardware demand brought about by AI, and the trend of consumers pursuing smart life, consumer electronics will still be a sub-category with full potential to go overseas in 2024.
Previously, at CES 2024 (International Consumer Electronics Show) held in Las Vegas, USA, more than 1,100 Chinese exhibitors made a concentrated appearance, accounting for nearly 25%. Based on the current situation of the supply and demand side industry, the consumer electronics category will achieve steady growth in the future.
01 3C goes to sea on the big track, and consumer electronics has broad potential
So far in 2023, generative AI has continued to be in popularity. In the context of hardware iteration brought about by AIGC, the global 3C market ushered in an overall recovery.
According to data from Statista and IDC, the global 3C market will regain growth and reach a new high in scale in 2023. In the large 3C market, the market size of the three major sub-categories of consumer electronics, computers and communication equipment reached US$273.8 billion, US$252.5 billion and US$498.3 billion respectively.
Focusing on the consumer electronics category with the greatest growth potential, IDC predicts that this category will reach $341 billion in 2024, with an average annual compound growth rate of 8.4% from 2022 to 2026.
The consumer electronics category as a whole shows high potential, and the growth space of subdivided products is different. For example, relatively mature categories such as smart audio and photography and video have maintained steady growth, while emerging categories such as power storage and smart wearables have maintained high growth driven by consumer demand and industry innovation. According to IDC's forecast, from 2022 to 2026, the global energy storage power supply and smart wearable categories will maintain an average annual compound growth rate of 12.6% and 16.5%.
In different overseas markets, the user groups and competitive landscape of consumer electronics are different. According to the research institute Euromonitor, the relatively mature North American and Western European markets are large and have strong per capita consumption power, accounting for 29.4% and 21.6% of the global consumer electronics market share respectively, while the emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia have fast growth but low penetration rate and large growth space, accounting for 6.2%, 4.8% and 3.3% of the market share respectively.
In terms of sales channels, mature markets have a high penetration rate of online channels, while emerging markets rely on offline channels. Euromonitor research shows that in 2022, the online penetration rate of consumer electronics in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom will all exceed 50%, the online penetration rate of other markets in Western Europe and Southeast Asia will be about 40%, and the penetration rate of the Middle East market will be about 20%.
02 The Z generation has become the core target user, and social media marketing is indispensable
In terms of consumer portraits, consumer electronics enthusiasts and Gen Z consumers are the two core potential users of this category. Euromonitor data shows that in North America, Western Europe, the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries), the Middle East (Egypt, Turkey, etc.), and Southeast Asia, the population penetration rate of consumer electronics enthusiasts is 23%, 21.3%, 25.8%, 17.4%, and 29.6% respectively; The population penetration rate of Gen Z consumers reached 18.4%, 18.5%, 23%, 38.4% and 33% respectively.
According to Adobe data, overseas consumers prioritize quality (82%), performance and configuration (77%) and price (74%) when purchasing consumer electronics. Gen Z consumers are more concerned about the added value that co-branding or celebrity endorsements bring to consumer electronics, as well as KOL and product review feedback.
Due to the professional knowledge of consumer electronics products, consumers often conduct in-depth research and comparison on the appearance, performance and price of products through different social media platforms and e-commerce channels before making purchase decisions. For 3C product marketing, a smoother marketing conversion path is required to build product usage scenarios and allow consumers to establish initial brand awareness and make purchase decisions.
Online social media is an important channel for consumer electronics brands to reach potential users. At a new juncture in the product stage, consumer electronics products with a large unit value especially need to build momentum through social media reach and KOL marketing. According to Adobe research, 87% of consumers refer to other users' experiences and reviews when purchasing consumer electronic products.
In terms of social media marketing content, with the rise of content productivity tools and pan-entertainment platforms in recent years, consumer electronics social media marketing is shifting from traditional new product promotion to video-based content marketing. In overseas markets, the interest of materials has gradually become the focus of consumer electronics brands. According to data from GoodsFox, in the fourth quarter of 2022, nearly one-third of the marketing materials of independent websites of consumer electronics brands were entertainment video materials, a significant increase from before.
In terms of "pulling weeds" conversions, WhatsApp has a huge user base in overseas markets. With more than 2.4 billion users worldwide and more than 5.8 billion downloads, WhatsApp sends more than 100 billion messages a day using WhatsApp around the world, making it popular in South America, the Middle East, Western Europe and Southeast Asia.
03 WhatsApp Business API助力消费电子品牌扬帆出海
Through WhatsApp Business API, it can help consumer electronics brands establish a two-way communication channel with users. In terms of specific marketing scenarios, consumer electronics brands generally have a faster pace of product launches, and overseas enterprises can send new product reminders to users through the product information template of WhatsApp Business API. Compared to other messaging channels, WhatsApp has a 98% open rate and a 45%-60% click-through rate, which effectively attracts users' attention and arouses purchase interest.
Not only that, but consumer electronics brands can also share the latest discounts with users through WhatsApp Business API to promote order conversion. Benefiting from the dual characteristics of WhatsApp's instant messaging and social media, it is relatively easier for users to receive big promotion discounts on channels that users use frequently.
During the promotion period, for users who have already added new consumer electronics products to their shopping carts, overseas brands can also push limited-time discount offers and arrival and replenishment reminders through WhatsApp Business API. According to the data, 70% of users will view the WhatsApp message within 5 minutes of receiving it, which is convenient for companies to re-interact with users about the products they are interested in at the new sales node, improving the customer experience and greatly increasing the conversion rate.
During the daily operation period, overseas consumer electronics brands can also build a private domain membership system through WhatsApp Business API, and increase users' awareness and stickiness of brands and products through efficient interaction. In addition, when there is a high volume of consumer inquiries, companies can also use WhatsApp chatbots to provide users with round-the-clock services, focusing more on key links such as product development.
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