Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
Consumer electronics in the Philippines - statistics & facts
As a country with one of the highest internet usages in the Asia Pacific region, demand for sophisticated communication gadgets has seen growth in the Philippines. Thanks to the expansion of income sources and the growing middle-class population, Filipino consumers have higher purchasing power that allows them to splurge on various necessities, including but not limited to electronic devices. These devices are increasingly important in making life more efficient, convenient, and comfortable for users. Such gadgets, which comprise the consumer electronics industry, include mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, televisions, wearables, cameras, speakers, and headphones. In the Philippines, this sector was forecast to demonstrate continued growth in the next five years, as evidenced in its revenue estimates.
In addition, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in hybrid work and blended learning modalities which fueled personal computer and tablet demand. As such, the penetration rate of tablet users in the country was forecast to surpass 43 percent in 2026, a significant increase from the 2017 figures. Other popular electronic devices owned by Filipino consumers were game consoles and smartwatches.
Consumer trends
The mobile device market is the largest subsector of the consumer electronics market in the Philippines, with over 79 million people owning a smartphone device. The current demand for 5G technology is among the major contributing factor to the growth in the smartphone landscape, with telecommunication companies planning to build additional infrastructures to boost internet connectivity. At the same time, low-cost smartphone brands have also started offering 5G-capable devices to satisfy Filipino consumers.In addition, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in hybrid work and blended learning modalities which fueled personal computer and tablet demand. As such, the penetration rate of tablet users in the country was forecast to surpass 43 percent in 2026, a significant increase from the 2017 figures. Other popular electronic devices owned by Filipino consumers were game consoles and smartwatches.
Sales channels for electronic products
While an increasing proportion of sales in the consumer electronics market in the country has been occurring online, brick-and-mortar stores remain the most used purchase channel for electronic products. These stores offer gadgets across all product ranges while offering other related services for their consumers. Retail stores also invested in their digital presence to cater to their growing online clients. As of the first quarter of 2022, Kimstore was the leading e-commerce site for electronic products according to the number of monthly web visits. Apart from specialized gadget stores, major e-commerce sites such as Lazada and Shoppee offer a wide range of consumer electronic products.
