ONE IN THREE WITH NEW SOUND ON THE EAR

– A total of nearly 1.7 million headphones or earphones were sold in 2025, says Jan Røsholm.

He is the managing director of the Foundation Elektronikkbransjen, which compiles sales statistics for consumer electronics and household appliances.

This means that every third person in Norway, from zero years and up, got new sound in their ears last year. After a slight decline in the audio sector in 2024, industry figures show a solid increase in 2025.

One million earphones

– In 2025, just over 630,000 headphones and a little over one million earphones were sold, compared to 520,000 headphones and 920,000 earphones in 2024, says Røsholm.

The industry association has had earphones as a separate product group in the industry statistics since 2020. This includes everything from the simplest models to the more advanced ones with noise cancellation.

– It has become common to have multiple headphones and earphones for different purposes. It has also become popular to use earphones with a cable, perhaps as a fashion statement, but our figures do not distinguish between units with or without a cable, says Røsholm.

Audio up 15 percent

Total sales in the audio category increased by 15 percent from 2024, to 3.4 billion kroner in 2025, compared to 2.9 billion in 2024. Home cinema systems saw a decrease of 30 percent to 117,000 units sold, compared to 165,000 in 2024. Audio and video systems, including streaming speakers, also saw a decline from 608,000 units in 2024 to 440,000 in 2025. For car speakers, there was an increase to 600,000 units sold in 2025, from 521,000 units in 2024.

– Streaming speakers had good sales in 2024, so a decline in 2025 was expected, says Røsholm.