DESPITE the worrying economic news that clouded much of last year, there was hardly any let-up in the buying habits of technology-savvy Singaporeans who were on the lookout for the best and latest in electronic gadgets.
The latest survey of consumer buying trends in 12 Asia-Pacific countries by market research firm GfK Asia shows that demand for high-end consumer items was strong throughout 2008 in Singapore.
Speaking to BizIT, GfK Asia's director, Lee Risk, said that in Singapore at the end of 2008, overall retail spending on consumer electronic products like printers, personal computers, digital cameras, peripherals and monitors grew by 3.5 per cent to reach an estimated $850 million. Unit volume of these products grew by 9 per cent.'
He added that while the retail landscape of Singapore's consumer electronics market has been very much resilient to market changes thus far, 'we do forecast a slower growth in 2009'.
In the current year, GfK expects Singapore consumers to be conservative in spending, but they will still be attracted to good deals that offer value for money.
The GfK survey tracked only consumer buying trends and its numbers do not include corporate buying of items like computers. The other 11 countries and territories covered are China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, India, New Zealand and Australia.
Singapore retail demand for high-end consumer electronics is still strong. Mr Risk noted that the data shows the total number of computers bought by consumers here went up by 30 per cent in 2008 over the previous year (298,075 compared to 229,087). The figure is well above the Asia-Pacific growth rate of 15 per cent.
Total sales value was US$341 million, which is a 16 per cent increase compared to the 2007 figure of US$293 million.
Within the computer group, sales of portable computers (or notebooks) grew by 33 per cent and that of desktops by 19 per cent.
Singapore was among the top two gainers in terms of value (sales) increase and among the top five volume gainers compared to the other 11 Asian countries in overall PC sales.
For consumer electronics, a category that includes, among others LCD and plasma TV sets, MP4 players and DVD players, total number of units sold went up by 2.67 per cent in volume terms. However, in revenue terms it was down 7.13 per cent.
'We have seen a slight price erosion which may account for the stronger growth figures,' Mr Risk noted.
The sale of stand-alone monitors in Singapore fell sharply by 11 per cent to just over 88,000 units.
The approximate sales value was just over US$21 million which is 8 per cent lower than last year's figure, Mr Risk added.
Sales of printers also went down by 19 per cent to 74,000 units.
Mr Risk noted that Singapore consumers brought approximately 330,000 TV sets last year which was a 9.5 per cent increase over 2007. The sales value was US$321 million, which is a one per cent increase over the 2007 figure. The average price of TVs sold in Singapore was $1,000 per unit.
Of the 330,000 units sold, an overwhelming number was LCD TVs. These accounted for 272,000 units and US$276 million.
In terms of number of LCD TVs sold, it was a 24 per cent increase over 2007. However, in revenue terms it was a 7 per cent increase from 2007. The average price of an LCD TV in Singapore fell from $1,200 in 2007 to $1,000 last year.
Singaporeans bought 23,700 plasma TV sets which was 7 per cent less than the number they bought in 2007. The rest of the TVs sold in Singapore were the older generation TVs. The average price of a plasma TV set fell from about $1,900 in 2007 to $1,600 last year.
In the camera segment, interestingly, sales of expensive DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras were up by 32 per cent to 57,000 units, while sales of cheaper compact cameras were down 2 per cent to just over 477,000 units.
In revenue terms, sales of DSLRs were up 40 per cent to US$65 million. The average price of a DSLR camera was $1,100.
For compact cameras there was a 7 per cent drop in revenue to US$134 million. The average price of compact cameras was between $200 and $220.
Singapore also saw the sale of one million mobile phones in 2008, which was 20 per cent more than the number of units sold in 2007. Sales value was US$263 million, a 7 per cent increase compared to 2007.
Of the total mobile phone sales, smartphones accounted for 88,000 units, which is an 84.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year's record.
These 88,000 units accounted for just over US$42 million, which is a 53.4 per cent increase compared to the 2007 figure. The average price of smartphones dropped to $480 in 2008 from $580 in 2007.
Mr Risk said that an interesting area to watch this year is Netbooks (or ultra mobile PCs, UMPC for short) which currently make up less than 15 per cent of the Singapore notebooks market.
'This is certainly an area of opportunity and we are seeing an increase in demand for these lower priced, more portable products.'
He noted that the total DVD market across the 12 Asian countries surveyed showed a decline in both volume (5 per cent) and value (12 per cent) in 2008 compared to 2007 figures. 'However, South-east Asia bucks this trend, posting an increase in sales volumes (18 per cent) and value (6 per cent) for DVD players.
'Consumers in South-east Asia purchased over 6.5 million DVD players in 2008, with total demand topping US$360 million. Blu-ray disc players gained momentum in 2008.'
Mr Risk added that based on December retail sales, consumers in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan were increasingly opting for Blu-Ray disc players, which offer improved video and sound quality compared to standard DVD.
This story was first published in The Business Times.
