Global Office and Contact Center Headset Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Global Office and Contact Center Headset Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Office and Contact Center Headset Market is anticipated to register a CAGR of over 11.22% over the forecast period (2022-2027). The growth of business process outsourcing and call centers due to the evolving business environment and government involvement has increased the demand for professional headphones in offices and contact centers.

· The industry is getting more competitive, with several corporate communications endpoints providers reflecting professional headset launches as part of their portfolios or adding new models to the market.

· For instance, in May 2021, Sonova Holding AG, a prominent hearing solutions producer, agreed to buy Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG's Consumer Division (Sennheiser). Sonova can extend its appealing product range, grasp growth prospects, particularly in the fast-growing market for true wireless headsets and the new area of voice-enhanced hearables, and expand its channel presence and customer base as a result of the purchase.

· While USB-based corded PC headsets are expected to increase the most in the big office worker sector, wireless headsets that connect to a PC or laptop through a USB device or hub are expected to dominate the executive and senior management segment. Wireless headset technology has evolved due to vendors such as Sony, Apple, Sennheiser, etc. As a result, the professional headset market is anticipated to be driven by the wireless headset segment. Wireless headsets with sound quality equivalent to wired headsets are currently available from vendors such as Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Jabra, and others.

· By 2026, cloud web and video conferencing demands are expected to increase. As more individuals utilize audio, video and web conferencing to communicate with remote teams regularly, headsets offering high-quality audio, limiting feedback and background noise, and providing privacy are becoming increasingly important.

· In contrast, Artificial intelligence, such as automation and business process automation, is lowering the number of people involved in business process outsourcing. Through the debut of the chatbot, the banking and financial industry has made a big effort to reduce the need for real contact centers and save extra expenses.

· The increased relevance of audio and video conferencing within corporate teams provides development prospects for microphone manufacturers. The lockdown imposed in the aftermath of CoVID-19 has verified this, making these vital components for moving on with business as usual. As the number of meeting rooms per site grows and the use of meeting rooms for remote conferencing grows, buyers want higher sound quality.

· Most of the professional headsets have wired headsets (corded headsets) as a commonly used type. They connect to business phones through amplifiers or Direct Connect Quick Disconnect (bottom) cables.

· Voice quality is becoming crucial with the increasing product launches by the enterprises for applications such as softphones, audio, video, and Web conferencing through their company’s network and using multiple enterprise devices such as PCs, notebooks, and mobile phones. The role of office headsets in the UC (Unified Communications) space will be vital to enhancing voice quality and standardizing it across multiple UC applications and devices.

· Headset vendors are already introducing a growing portfolio of UC headsets that include higher audio bandwidth, superior noise cancellation, and speech recognition capability. For example, in August 2021, Poly added the Voyager 4300 UC Series to its award-winning wireless Bluetooth headphone range. The Voyager 4300 UC Series, designed for the modern working method, keeps workers connected and productive at home or work.

· Moreover, call centers are mainly opting for UC and business headsets owing to the benefits they bring to their business processes, such as increased productivity levels of employees and efficient communication with clients.

· UC-enabled headsets support using various personal devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. These headsets enable all employees working from home to attend calls, video conferences, and client meetings conveniently without external disturbances.

· Poly, one of the prominent global headsets companies, reported revenue in headset segmentation in the investor day presentation, where professional headsets hold major share and are growing. In 2021, the revenue of professional headsets was USD 802 million, with a 20% Y-o-Y compared to 2019. The company mentioned wired headsets are the most commonly used type in professional headsets, showing an increasing revenue trend.

· High semiconductor spending for wireless devices, rising need for mobility, technological advancements, and the launch of novel gadgets are the primary drivers of the wireless audio devices market. Furthermore, the well-established consumer electronics industry in Asia-Pacific and the expanding number of middle-class customers in emerging nations such as China, India, and Japan are driving market expansion.

· The rapidly growing events market in the region, owing to the number of sponsors, enhanced reach among the youth population, and an increase in inclination toward entrepreneurship among youth is driving the adoption of professional headsets.

· Various international corporations have established production factories in the region due to the abundant resources and low labor costs, making it an attractive location for multi-million dollar investments in wireless audio equipment. At the same time, even small entrepreneurs have switched to the production of headsets through the observable increase in demand.

· For instance, in December 2021, according to mint, Optiemus Electronics, an Indian manufacturer licensed under the PLI program for mobile phones, began manufacturing hundreds of hearable and wearable goods for Noise, a brand owned by Gurugram-based Nexxbase Marketing Private Limited, at its Noida factory.

· Further, the region's strong demand for business process outsourcing has majorly driven the demand for professional headsets. Currently, India dominates the business process outsourcing market in the region. India's BPO industry is mature and handles many primary and secondary (non-core) business tasks. It includes customer call centers, IT system development, IT infrastructure, and technical support. This increase in interactions through audio and video conferencing in these tasks increases the demand for a professional headset market.

· Furthermore, the upcoming sports events such as the 2021 Olympic Games in Japan and 2022 Beijing Olympics, ICC World T20 in Australia, and Paralympic Games in Japan, among others in the region, would further boost the adoption of the professional headset.

The office and contact center headset market is becoming competitive, with multiple vendors expanding their product lines to offer a broad portfolio of solutions. Vendors have been rolling out headsets with numerous product improvements, including advanced active noise cancellation, improved connectivity, innovative form factors, and an expanding array of built-in capabilities. They are competing on technologies, pricing, and product support to capture higher customer mindshare. Players are Samsung Electronics Co. Limited, LG Electronics, Panasonic Corporation, etc.

· May 2022 - Vonage, one of the prominent companies in cloud communications that help businesses accelerate their digital transformation, has partnered with Headsets.com to provide integrated unified communications and contact center solutions, allowing for a seamless agent experience and superior customer service. The Headsets.com team has provided high-quality, ergonomic wired or wireless headsets for office or remote work to over 1.5 million organizations in the United States.

· March 2022 - Virsae, a supplier of XCaaS analytics, has teamed up with Jabra, a provider of intelligent headsets and collaboration technologies, to provide UC and contact center analytics to headsets and work-from-home (WFH) settings.

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