The consumer electronics industry has been an integral part of the global economic landscape for decades. And the tinge of modernization has definitely added more life to consumer electronic products. Our dependencies to the modern gadgets have increased so much that right from the day starter as an alarm to its ending via a casual chitchat on a smartphone- we seem to be surrounded more with these products than the humans! Defining consumer electronics, these are the devices simply designed for daily use that contain an electronic printed circuit board. The consumer electronics cover a varied range of products including televisions, cameras, digital cameras, smartphones, VCRs, DVDs, audio devices, headphones, clocks, PDAs, calculators, tablets, and many more.
The rising BYOD or the bring your own device trend and the IoT connectivity have tremendously flourished the consumer electronics industry. Technological advancement and new product launch by the major players of the industry are the other elements that accelerate the high demand for the global consumer electronics industry. However, amid the ongoing trade war and other dramatic turns of events, the recent outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) all over the globe has severely pressurized the consumer electronics industry. The rapid spread of the virus is causing delay in the launch of new electronic devices in the domestic and international market. The outbreak is causing a crisis in major economies across the globe including China, the US, India, Italy, UK, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Iran, and many others.
Majority of these countries are strictly following the nationwide lockdown and the required social distancing. The governments of the several nations have called on people to shelter-in-place at home; there are further travel restrictions, shut down of local businesses; and as stated above the prohibited social gatherings. Following the widespread COVID-19, the electronic product manufacturers have put the further production of new electronic devices at halt. Therefore, the upcoming production of new electronic devices all over the globe is expected to tumble. The supermarkets, retail shops and showrooms of major brands, and hypermarkets- all have been shut down for a definite period of time affecting sales of various consumer electronics products.
However, a few marketers are adopting different strategies- be it the reduction in their production volumes, halting of new product launches or even relocation of production facilities where needed, just to combat with the situation. The instance of the latter could be seen through Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s declaration made in March 2020. It was decided by the company to shift some portion of its domestic production of smartphones to Vietnam from South Korea fastest growth in the spread of coronavirus. All these efforts aim to either prevent or minimize the potential impact of COVID-19 on their respective manufacturing operations. In February 2020, both Hyundai and Nissan, have announced the production suspension of the South Korean plant due to the delay in the procurement of electronics spares. In addition, the weakening demand for consumer electronics due to the shutdown of retail stores is the key factor hindering the efforts of consumer electronics manufacturers to get back to full capacity across the globe.
