(Yicai Global) March 25 -- China’s market for smart home appliances is expected to soar after last year’s setback, with shipments forecast to jump 26.7 percent to 260 million units, according to a report published today by US market researcher IDC.

The market began rebounding in the fourth quarter of 2020, surging 6 percent to 60.87 million units from a year earlier, with sales revenue rising 4.4 percent to USD13 billion, IDC said in the report.

Of that, smart speaker consignments rose 5.9 percent to 13.85 million, while those of security equipment climbed 25 percent to 8.17 million. But dispatches of home video and entertainment devices as well as smart home appliances fell.

China’s smart home device shipments tallied 200 million units in 2020, down 1.9 percent, in the face of the pandemic and tight upstream supply.

But shipments of home temperature control devices, smart lighting and security equipment all surged against the market trend, indicating that demand is shifting from entertainment to comfort, according to IDC.

IDC also believes that higher supply chain costs will accelerate the shift in competition from price wars to functional upgrades, especially in the areas of smart televisions and smart audio speakers.

Sales of smart TVs and speakers will see annual growth of 4.1 percent and 36.4 percent, respectively, this year, led by top manufacturers, IDC added.

Editor: Peter Thomas