India’s Boat Earbuds Outsell Samsung and Apple: What’s the Secret Behind Their Success?
Affordable true wireless (TWS) earbuds have significantly outsold premium earphones in the first half of 2023. In fact, you have brands like Noise, Boat and their $50 (roughly Rs. 4,000) earphones carrying this category on their shoulders.
Affordable TWS earbuds have their downsides, but when you put their pricing into context, millions are happy to save money on bigger brands like Samsung, Sony, and Apple. The affordable earphone segment has grown by 15 percent this year compared to 2022, as highlighted in an industry report by Counterpoint Research.
It’s interesting to see budget brands doing well, but hardly surprising considering you can buy TWS headphones for under Rs 3,000. Despite this, we did not see any major product launches from major brands in the first half of 2023.
But that has now changed, which could have a dramatic impact on how buyers view the premium segment (Rs 12,000 and above) and whether they want to upgrade to the latest Sony, Samsung or even Google TWS headphones.
If you look at the picture of TWS earphone brands in India, you will find that most of them are selling products well below Rs 3,000, which is enough to attract buyers because they want to use the device and now they are available. within its budget. Buyers of premium TWS headphones already have their own preferences, so transferring them to other brands is much more difficult.
Budget consumers are more open to experimenting, helped by various discount offers available online that allow them to use these headphones without spending a fortune. People are also realizing that newer brands have more to offer, not just in terms of price, but features like active noise cancellation that help them sell out faster.
