Chargers Lead the U.S. Cell Phone Accessory Market

Following the trend of pursuing high-end handsets and smartphones packed with rich multimedia features, people are now spending more on accessories to keep their phones powered and spruced up. In the United States alone, typical cell phone owners spend about US$60 on accessories throughout the whole life of a handset, found research company ABI Research.

The survey, conducted in July 2009, reveals that among the 1000 adult consumers questioned, cell phone chargers, including car chargers and travel chargers, were the most popular accessories. This maybe a little surprising, since what comes to our mind first when speaking of accessories are probably Bluetooth headsets or silicon skin cases instead of chargers.

Nevertheless, the purchasing patterns of cell phone chargers are likely to change over the next couple of years, as GSMA plans to introduce a Micro USB universal charger compatible with future new cell phones of major mobile operators and manufacturers.

Ranking second were carrying and protective cases, which are available in a great variety of forms like snap-on covers, silicon skin cases, leather cases, as well as belt clips and holsters. Following closely were batteries and memory cards. Other frequently purchased add-on items are handsfree headsets, car kits and decorative add-ons.

ABI Research also found that the popularity of these handset accessories varies with different age groups. Compared to consumers over 40, younger buyers (under 40) were more likely to buy batteries, data cables and protective cases when they purchased a new phone. ABI’s analyst Michael Morgan said that the popularity of the latter two implies that media-centric handsets and smartphones with higher prices are more common among young consumers.

As for the locations people buy their accessories, the survey shows that about half of all accessories were purchased in retail stores operated by the major mobile providers, whereas other retail stores and online shops are important in making up the sales as well.

The global cell phone accessory market will worth about US$63 billion by the end of 2009 and the growth is expected to continue with the influx of more premium handsets.

Tags: Car Charger, AC / travel Charger, Leather Case, Silicon Skin Case, Cell Phone Battery, Memory Card, Cellular Handsfree