A special 2020 characterized by home offices and a greater need for home entertainment has sparked a boom in consumer electronics sales in Norway.
The annual statistics on consumer electronics sales in 2020 from Stiftelsen Elektronikkbransjen show some clear trends and tendencies in the Norwegian market. Specifically, equipment for home offices, streaming, gaming, and entertainment have driven sales. The figures for 2020 show a revenue growth of as much as 18 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 42,3 billion NOK in 2020 compared to 36,03 billion NOK in 2019.
More TV’s and increased streaming
The sales of TV’s have increased for the first time in three years. In 2020, 430,000 units were sold, which is a growth of 18 percent. The increase is assumed to have been caused by the lockdown and the closing of leisure activities, which may have brought up new needs such as getting a TV for the child’s room.
Streaming services also continue to grow, and 77 percent of Norwegian households subscribe to one or more services, which is an increase from 2019, where the share was 72 percent. Netflix is still the top streaming service, but the newcomer Disney+ has in a short time become popular in Norway as well. 21 percent of households have bought a Disney+ subscription.
Webcams and keyboards for the home office
With closed offices in large parts of Norway, digital meetings at home offices have exploded. This has led to a quadrupling of product sales for the home office, and it is especially webcams and keyboards that drive sales. There was a boost in sales already in the beginning of the pandemic, and a new wave when it became clear that remote working and home schooling was going to be a long-term exercise.
Over 2 million headphones sold in 2020
In addition to webcams, Norwegians bought just over two million headphones and earplugs in 2020. The sales increased by three percent when comparing with 2019. Out of the total 2.12 million units, 920,000 were headphones and the remaining 1.2 million were earplugs. Presumably, many of those have been bought for usage in digital meetings. According to the survey, 71 percent of all headphones and 83 percent of all earplugs bought in 2020 were wireless, and the wireless trend is expected to continue in the future as well.
Although the consumer survey referred to is from the Norwegian market, similar tendencies may also have characterized consumer electronics sales in the remaining Scandinavian countries the past year.
Sources:
Stiftelsen Elektronikkbransjen
