Asia Pacific

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.…

Retail volume sales of smartphones declined in 2022, and this is set to continue in 2023. In 2021, sales of smartphones saw a dynamic volume increase, partly due to a rebound from the 2020 fall in sales, when COVID-19 disrupted the production and…

2020 saw shipments of smartphones decline globally, which were also felt in Singapore. In addition, inflation and macro concerns also played roles as consumers looked to reduce their expenditure wherever possible, including postponing upgrades on…

Mobile phones continued to account for the highest proportion of retail value sales of consumer electronics in 2023. Smartphones are playing an increasingly important role in the daily lives of local consumers, thanks to the shift towards a cashless…

A truth in smartphones is that it is a scale business. The larger the volume produced, the better the cost, because it is easier to receive volume discounts from device makers. Large global players such as Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi enjoy this…

In Indonesia the desire for high-quality smartphones is on the up. The rising demand can be attributed to an array of factors, including the creation of state-of-the-art content, the shift towards remote working and online schooling, and the…

In 2023, the mobile phones category in India witnessed decline in retail volume terms, due to lower demand for feature phones that face fierce competition from smartphones. Limited innovation and unfavourable macroeconomic conditions have also…

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…

Mobile phones is still struggling to recover from the aftermath of the pandemic impacts in 2023. 2022 marked a historic year when sales for mobile phones in China underwent a double-digit decline in volumes sold, amounting to less than 290 million…

Retail volume sales in microwaves are sliding into negative declines, which are expected to continue over the forecast period. Previously, we had seen decent volume growth in microwaves, thanks to players offering more affordable and value-for-money…

A microwave oven is a key appliance for consumers who demand convenience cooking appliances. Following a strong, but relatively limited, drop in retail volume sales in 2020, caused by COVID-19 pandemic-related strict lockdowns and restricted retail…

Microwaves continued to see healthy growth in retail volume terms in 2023, even recording an improvement on the growth seen in the previous two years. One of the significant factors driving this demand is the shift in eating habits towards consuming…

Despite its higher electricity consumption, microwaves are considered kitchen essentials in Taiwan. As such, the penetration rates of microwaves continued to slightly increase in 2023. COVID-19 did not have a negative impact on its overall sales…

South Korea experienced a 3.7% inflation rate in September 2023, the highest in five months since April. This increase follows a peak inflation rate of 6.3% in July 2022, which then gradually decreased to 2.3% by July 2023. As the cost of living…

In the bustling environment of Singapore, where time is a precious commodity and space is often at a premium, the microwave has evolved from a mere kitchen appliance into a modern day necessity. This transformation can be attributed to several key…

The Malaysian market for microwaves saw a decline in retail volume sales in 2023, continuing from 2022’s dip that followed a period of growth from 2019 to 2021. The decline is partly due to a reduced need for new or replacement microwaves after a…

Microwaves saw a positive impact on its volume sales in the first two years of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021. This was the period with the most home seclusion, when people needed to cook and eat at home more frequently. Cooking from scratch, warming…

The trend towards urbanisation helped to drive demand for microwaves in 2023, with the category showing significant growth over the previous year in retail volume terms. Modern families, especially in large cities, lead increasingly busy lives and…

Microwaves in India continued to experience muted demand in 2023, as consumers restricted their expenditure during a period of economic uncertainty. There were several other factors, such as the return of domestic help, reopening of restaurants,…

Demand for microwaves is expected to continue to see notable growth in 2023. While the removal of pandemic restrictions was somewhat of a headwind for other cooking appliances, solid growth has continued for microwaves, as busy professionals value…

Similar to small cooking appliances, microwaves is expected to have another tough year in China in 2023, with a projected single-digit decline in volume sales, which are set to fall below 10 million units. On the one hand, demand for cooking…

Elevated inflation and other economic challenges have resulted in a large number of job losses in Vietnam which has had a negative effect on the recovery of menswear in 2023 in both value and volume terms. Although the government has introduced a…

There was a notable consumer preference for vintage clothing in 2023, with trends such as “old money fashion vibe” and Levi’s “1955”. Male consumers displayed an interest in clothes worn during older times, such as straight cut jeans, tucked-in basic…

In recent years, sustainability has become an increasingly important theme across apparel and footwear in Thailand. When it comes to menswear, more players are seeking to distinguish themselves through the use of sustainable concepts in terms of…

While menswear in Taiwan is poised to record an improved performance in total volume sales terms in 2023, growth has been tempered by changes in consumer behaviour. Demand is now stabilising in the wake of the rapid rebound facilitated by the lifting…

Menswear continues to post healthy current value sales growth, as South Korea fully entered an endemic era from May 2023. Followed by the lifting of social distancing measures in 2022, the South Korea government lifted the mask mandate in April 2023…

Menswear in Singapore has been regaining momentum after the significant pandemic-induced decline seen in 2020. Although the category is not expected to fully recover to the pre-pandemic levels of retail volume and current value sales in 2023, it is…

Menswear saw another year of healthy growth in current value terms in 2023, with sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The return of Malaysians to their physical offices supported demand in a number of product areas, with items such as men’s suits,…

After a rebound to growth in 2022, menswear in Japan is set to maintain positive retail volume and current value growth rates in 2023. The category experienced a significant decline in 2020, followed by a year of slower decline in 2021, as COVID-19…

The overall rate of retail volume growth in menswear slowed in 2023, compared to the previous two years. The high rate of inflation, at least during the first half of the year, meant that consumers continued to suffer from reduced levels of…

Menswear witnessed substantial double-digit current value growth in 2023, marking a continued strong rebound from the pre-pandemic downturn. In contrast to the previous year, which was characterised by festive purchasing and stockpiling, the…

Menswear is experiencing a strong rebound, recording high double-digit retail volume and current value growth in 2023, although overall demand remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels. With Hong Kong’s border reopening, tourists are gradually…

Since the end of the zero-COVID policy, the consumer environment has been gradually returning to normal, and menswear is anticipated to experience a substantial single-digit rebound in China in 2023, although is not quite expected to revert to its…

Vietnam’s population reached continued to grow in 2023 with 31% of the population being females aged 12-54 years, with this being important to the continued growth of the category. Menstrual care continued to boast stronger growth rates compared to…

Menstrual care continued on a developing trend in Uzbekistan in 2023, driven by population growth in women of child-bearing age, along with an observable expansion of consumer education levels into regions where awareness and availability of female…

Menstrual care in the Philippines enjoyed an improved performance in current value terms in 2023. Growth was supported by an increase in consumer mobility, including the return of women to their physical workplaces,

The surge in popularity of pant-type menstrual care products, notably among teenagers facing heavier flows, has prompted various brands to diversify their offerings. Responding to this trend, the market has seen increased innovation, with brands…

Menstrual care in Taiwan saw a improved performance in current value terms in 2023. However, this was attributable to inflationary pressures, as rising raw material and supply chain costs, combined with a reduction in the number of promotional…

While overall volume sales in menstrual care in South Korea may have shown a slight dip in 2023, a dynamic transformation is quietly unfolding. Closer examination reveals a notable surge in the demand for alternative products such as tampons,…

Despite the declining female demographic aged 12-54, menstrual care continued to register low positive year-on-year growth in current value terms while retail volume transactions faced a small decline. While the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic no…

Menstrual care in Pakistan registered constant value growth, in spite of crippling inflation. However, volume sales fell slightly. Significant work is also being done by NGOs such as UNICEF to remove cultural taboos around menstruation and this is…

Standard towels maintained their popularity in menstrual care in Malaysia in 2023, thanks to their affordable prices and good protection. Despite the rise in demand for added-value options in tissue and hygiene (eg eco-friendly products, etc.),…

Menstrual care registered both healthy current value and volume growth in Kazakhstan in 2023. However, with inflation still being high, there was a slight fall in constant value sales, as rising costs hit profitability and consumers also traded down…

Volume sales of menstrual care products fell faster than the decline in the female population aged 12-54 in Japan in 2023, according to Euromonitor’s Consumers data. One reason was price increases. Inflation was seen globally after the pandemic,…

Menstrual care in Indonesia in 2023 saw significant rises in both volume and current value terms, with growth driven by the country’s expanding middle class. This is leading to higher disposable incomes, newfound financial flexibility and greater…

Menstrual care in India witnessed high single-digit retail current value and volume growth in 2023, on account of habit persistence, new product launches, and growing awareness regarding the importance of menstrual hygiene. Regular users of menstrual…

Comfort and functionality continue to be essential considerations for consumers when purchasing menstrual products. Menstrual care products that highlight “instant absorbency” with less leakage are popular among female consumers. These products not…

Despite the overall economy rebound in 2023 with the lifting of pandemic restrictions and the resumption of offline activities, menstrual care continued its stable growth in 2023 as it is a very mature category in China with a high penetration rate…

Menstrual care was seeing robust growth in 2023 in Azerbaijan, albeit at lower growth rates in value than witnessed in 2022, due to inflationary pressures starting to stabilise. Notably, with the stabilisation of inflation rates, this means unit…

As Vietnamese men's incomes rise and living standards improve, they are showing a growing preference for products designed specifically for them. The population imbalance has also led to a rise in demand for men's products, given that Vietnam is home…