Asia Pacific

Retail volume sales of consumer electronics continued to fall in 2023, with the rate of decline accelerating compared to the previous year. This was mainly the result of a slump in demand for computer and peripherals, although almost all other…

Retail volume sales of headphones continued to decline in 2023, despite the increasingly important role they play in consumers’ lives. In addition to providing a high-quality audio experience for music and other forms of entertainment, they can also…

Home audio and cinema continued to decline in retail volume and current value terms in 2023, a course that looks set to persist into the forecast period. Products such as hi-fi systems are seen as unnecessary for most Taiwanese, and increasingly…

Retail volume sales of home video, which is dominated by LCD TVs, saw a decline in 2023, in contrast to the modest growth seen in the previous year. Households were reluctant to spend their hard-earned money on higher-priced consumer electronics, as…

Retail volume sales of imaging devices suffered a further decline in 2023, continuing the trend of the review period. This was due to the waning fortunes of digital cameras, which were severely challenged by continuous advancements in smartphone…

In-car entertainment continued its downward spiral in 2023, a trend that is set to continue throughout the entire forecast period. In-car navigation saw the most significant decline in sales in retail volume terms, largely due to the deepening…

Retail volume sales of mobile phones continued to decline in 2023. Households were reluctant to spend their hard-earned money on discretionary purchases, as fears over inflation and interest rate rises took their toll on consumer confidence.…

Wireless speakers continued to drive growth in portable players in 2023, being the only product area to have recorded a positive increase in sales in retail volume terms. Compact, portable and affordable, as well as being compatible with “on-the-go”…

Wearable electronics continued to see a healthy performance in retail volume terms in 2023, supported by increased purchases of activity watches and smart wearables. Prevailing health and wellness trends and the high levels of convenience and…

Economic freedom in Japan continues to benefit the private sector, as does limited corruption, but fiscal health remains weak. Unemployment is low, but the economy faces external forces that are weakening its performance. Ageing and depopulation…

The foodservice channel has seen something of rollercoaster in China in recent years. First came a significant decline in 2020, when COVID-19 first hit the country. This was followed by a strong recovery in 2021, when China seemed to have the…

Singapore’s economic freedom is the best in the world, although civil liberties are restricted and corruption is on the rise. Economic momentum is slowing and the external sector is susceptible to global cyclical changes, but inflation is well…

In 2023, baby food is performing well and returning to normal after the disturbances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. The main reason for this is due to the fast rebound of the domestic economy, as well as ongoing urbanisation. Likewise,…

Computer sales in Hong Kong continue to fall in 2023, as after-effects from the pandemic continue to impact logistics, such as shipping and manufacturing. Added to which, due to lower consumers spending confidence, companies continue to witness…

2023 is a challenging year for consumer electronics, due to a combination of plateauing growth in several key categories – namely, computers, in-home consumer electronics, and smartphones, as well as a sluggish overall sales rebound following the…

Headphones is the other category enjoying healthy volume growth, thanks to the ongoing popularity of TWS earbuds – which continues to trend thanks to a growing range of brands, across price points, being launched. Consumers can thus pick and choose…

The reopening of society after the end of the pandemic restrictions means that consumers are returning to out-of-home entertainment and thus have a lesser need for in-home entertainment setups, such as home cinema and audio. Indeed, this has led to…

Televisions is the star category of home video, seeing small positive volume sales which elevate the performance of the category as a whole. This comes midst market saturation and consumers’ preference for substitute products – such as monitors used…

Digital camcorders are seeing positive volume growth in 2023, thanks to the return of out-of-home lifestyles and travel, whereby consumers enjoy recording their adventures. On the other hand, digital cameras continue to face competition from…

In-car entertainment is in an overall structural decline, due to rising competition and cannibalisation from multifunctional devices such as smartphones. An added factor here is the decline in the number of registered private cars. This trend is…

Mobile phone sales remain in a slump, due to ongoing supply chain issues following on from the event of the pandemic. Indeed, a decline in shipping supply is noted for the local territory, which is attributed to the local market being slow to adapt…

Portable players is seeing a healthy performance in 2023, in part thanks to the overall popularity and success of wireless speakers, in addition to the return of gatherings and social occasions out-of-home in the post-pandemic landscape. Indeed, in…

Wearable electronics is the boom category in 2023, seeing excellent volume growth, and with smart wearables as the best-performing category. On the other hand, sales of activity bands continued to plateau. The decline in the popularity of activity…

In 2023, the airlines category is experiencing further positive value growth, following expansion in 2022. The government’s easing of various travel requirements in line with the abolition of PPKM is the main reason behind the growth, with this shift…

The volume of passengers travelling by air surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels in 2023. This was due to the easing of pandemic-related restrictions, which encouraged consumers to revive any travel plans that had been put on hold during the pandemic.…

Online bookings are showing a significant growth trend in 2023. The repeal of PPKM at the end of 2022 has had a very positive impact on this category. Various promos offered by OTA, especially special price promotions for orders on certain dates, are…

Retail sales of bookings continued to grow strongly in constant value terms in 2023. This rebound was driven largely due to pent-up demand, as well as strong growth in domestic tourism and the rising popularity of staycations by domestic travellers.…

In 2023, the hotel occupancy rate has again shown an increase, although it has not yet recovered to the figure seen in 2019, immediately before the outbreak of COVID-19. However, several cities in Central Java, such as Solo City, have recorded…

Hotels in the Philippines continued to bounce back in 2023, with the number of room nights being close to pre-pandemic levels. The sector suffered during the pandemic, due to mobility restrictions, with resulted in some hotels closing for business on…

In 2023, tourism flows are expected to show a significant increase compared to 2022. This has already been seen in the first quarter of 2023. Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Timor Leste and India were still the countries that made the largest…

Inbound arrivals (in terms of number of trips) continued to recover in 2023, having recorded triple-digit growth over the previous year. This followed the easing of all remaining international travel restrictions, including COVID-19 test…

The Indonesian travel industry is showing significant expansion in 2023. The main reason behind this growth is the revocation of the PPKM (Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement) policy at the end of 2022, which has resulted in much greater…

The Filipino travel industry continued to recover in 2023, with the volume of inbound arrivals having recorded triple-digit growth over the previous year. This followed the easing of all remaining international travel restrictions, including COVID-19…

Air travel appears to be experiencing robust momentum in China as regulations have moved away from lengthy pandemic-related restrictions of the past three years, benefiting both domestic and international airlines. Ticket prices could remain…

Airlines in Hong Kong started its recovery after the border reopening, and is set to see a rebound back to more than 85% of the pre-COVID-19 level of retail value sales in 2023, with full recovery expected in 2024. Airlines are currently facing…

Airlines is regaining momentum along with deregulation related to COVID-19, and the return of inbound tourism. However, the supply side has not kept pace with this recovery. The process of restoring the business structure is taking time, after many…

Airlines in Malaysia experienced strong growth in terms of domestic flights in 2022 while international air travel is expected to rise significantly in 2023 now that global border restrictions have been lifted. As a result, the number of people…

The number of people travelling via air saw triple-digit growth for the second consecutive year in 2023, with volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The return of tourists from other countries in Asia-Pacific, notably China, was a key contributor to…

During the review period, low-cost carriers experienced a more significant increase in both sales value and the number of passengers compared to full-service carriers. This growth can be primarily attributed to the more rapid recovery of domestic…

Booking in China has seen a rapid shift from offline to online sales, as the country has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world, and local consumers are accustomed to booking travel online. However, 2023 is set to see a temporary…

Booking through travel intermediaries is becoming increasingly popular amongst leisure travellers. Local consumers shifted to booking travel online during the pandemic due to greater convenience and accessibility. According to Euromonitor…

COVID-19 has changed various elements in businesses, from the implementation of working from home, to the normalisation of online meetings, and paperless applications and approvals. With such momentum, this has also triggered an acceleration of the…

Tourism Malaysia is looking for new ways to expand its reach and entice more travellers to book a holiday in the country. For example, Tourism Malaysia collaborated with Indonesian travel platform Traveloka on a smart partnership campaign to promote…

Retail sales of bookings continued to grow strongly in constant value terms in 2023 as they edged even closer to pre-pandemic levels. While offline booking saw a strong recovery, online booking still accounted for more than two thirds of retail…

Travel intermediaries are embracing the health and wellbeing trends by introducing a range of new products specifically designed for mental and physical rejuvenation. In 2023, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of Vietnamese individuals…

Mid-market hotels continue to gain share as consumers trade up in terms of spending on accommodation, such as moving away from unrated or budget to mid-market options. This is being driven by increasing awareness of health and safety accelerated by…

Hotels is set to see full recovery to the 2019 level of retail value sales in 2023. The return of mainland China tourists after the border reopening has greatly contributed to the recovery of hotels, and thus lodging. However, there has been uneven…

During COVID-19, lodging in Japan suffered greatly due to various travel restrictions, leading many outlets to close temporarily, or even some to close altogether. However, in 2023, when travel restrictions were lifted completely early in the year,…

As with the other travel categories, lodging’s recovery has also been boosted by the re-opening of international borders and a significant increase in tourism flows in 2023. Before this, lodging was mainly relying on domestic travellers which led to…

Lodging in Thailand continued to bounce back in 2023, with the number of room nights in hotels exceeding pre-pandemic levels. This buoyancy of demand allowed certain hotels to raise their room prices, as they were confident about attracting more…