China 3C Electronics Market 2024: CN¥ 785B, Up 6.7%

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Related report: 2024 Whitepaper: China's 3C Devices Market Analysis, with full data tables, brand strategies and bubble charts across all five subcategories.

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Executive Summary#

China's online 3C devices (Computers, Communications, Consumer Electronics) market surpassed CN¥ 785.0 billion in total sales value in 2024, up 6.7% YoY in revenue and 11.1% YoY in unit volume. While the overall market grew at a measured pace, its subcategories moved in quite different directions. OWS (open-ear) earphones grew 86.2% YoY to CN¥ 6.27 billion, action cameras grew 69.0% to CN¥ 3.11 billion and smart wearables grew 24.5%. Across the market, TWS earphones declined 2%, storage drives contracted 4.7% and the handheld console segment fell 3.4%. We believe the data shows growth concentrating in wearable and portable electronics, where AI integration, scenario-based marketing and innovation by domestic brands are changing how products compete.

The Big Picture: CN¥ 785 Billion and a Volume-Led Expansion#

China's 3C devices market reached CN¥ 785.0 billion across 3.43 billion units sold in 2024, with an average selling price (ASP) of CN¥ 229.1. Sales peaked around the 618 mid-year festival and Singles' Day (双十一), with June 2024 sales of CN¥ 93.4 billion and November 2024 sales of CN¥ 94.1 billion. Volume grew faster than revenue, at 11.1% against 6.7%, which reflects a broad move toward more accessible price points across categories. We read this as a consumer base that is expanding while unit economics come under pressure, so brands that can hold premium positioning while volumes grow are in the strongest position.

AI integration supported growth throughout the year. Large language models embedded in PCs and smartphones raised feature penetration, while AI-enabled health features in smart watches and AI voice assistants in earphones gave brands new ways to differentiate their products. The government subsidy policy announced in January 2025, which provides direct purchase subsidies for smartphones, tablets and smart watches, is expected to accelerate adoption further.

3C devices market sustained +6.7% YoY growth, with June and November peaks driven by promotional events

3C devices market sustained +6.7% YoY growth, with June and November peaks driven by promotional events

*Source: Moojing Market Intelligence*

Five Subcategories#

Audio equipment is the largest of the five subcategories at CN¥ 76.8 billion, while smart wearables grew 24.5% YoY and storage drives contracted 4.7%.

Audio equipment leads in scale at CN¥ 76.8 billion, while smart wearables surge +24.5% YoY

Audio equipment leads in scale at CN¥ 76.8 billion, while smart wearables surge +24.5% YoY

*Source: Moojing Market Intelligence*

OWS Earphones Grew 86.2%#

The OWS earphone segment recorded the strongest growth of the year, with sales reaching CN¥ 6.27 billion in 2024, up 86.2% YoY, as price and volume increased together. New products widened the segment, among them Huawei's FreeClip, launched in November 2023, and Bose's Ultra Open Earbuds, which entered the segment in February 2024 at a premium price point.

Three usage clusters emerged. Sports-oriented use cases accounted for most of the market, and AI-powered office productivity features formed a second cluster, with iFlytek's meeting-assistant capabilities as an example. A smaller companion and entertainment segment is represented by ByteDance's Ola Friend with its integrated Doubao AI assistant. We believe the OWS segment is expanding the earphone market as well as taking some sales from TWS, because it serves use cases such as outdoor sports, office productivity and AI companionship that closed-ear designs do not address well.

Action Cameras: Demand at Higher Prices#

The action camera market reached CN¥ 3.11 billion, up 69.0% YoY, while average selling prices rose 12.3%, which suggests that the growth came from demand and was not driven by discounting. Domestic brands such as DJI and Insta360 compete in the category with products that offer high performance at premium price points.

DJI's content-led strategy on a leading short-video platform has been particularly effective, with dedicated video series for the Pocket and Action camera lines accumulating 27.0 million and 32.0 million views respectively, which connected the products' capabilities with aspirational usage scenarios. We believe this route from content to purchase is one that other hardware brands seeking to build demand on Chinese social platforms can follow.

What This Means for Brands and Investors#

The 2024 3C devices data points to three strategic priorities:

Build for the usage scenario. Growth in OWS earphones and action cameras is being driven by specific usage scenarios, such as outdoor sports, office productivity and content creation, more than by general demand for the product category. We therefore expect brands that design products for well-defined scenarios and market them through scenario-based content to grow faster than those that compete on feature specifications alone.
Treat channel strategy as a strategic decision. Brand structures and the role of content-driven discovery differ from one marketplace to another, so the choice of channels has a direct effect on revenue. We believe the same distribution approach across every marketplace is becoming less effective.
Domestic brands are competing at premium prices. In action cameras, OWS earphones and smart watches, Chinese brands are winning customers through innovation, design and AI integration at premium price points, and are no longer competing on price alone.

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Download the full report: 2024 Whitepaper: China's 3C Devices Market Analysis, which includes brand strategies, bubble chart positioning maps and monthly data for all five subcategories.

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