When i was in college it was everybody's goal to have a stereo in their dorm room. Stereo Systems sold like hotcakes, about $600 could get you a speakers, receiver, and cassette deck ($300/$200/$100, borrow someone else's turntable to turn your records into cassettes), especially on president's day when everyone took their tuition money and sliced off a chunk to purchase a stereo. Then portable electronics (walkmans) started to destroy that trend in the mid-80's.
If my sons are any example, most listeners today use a cellphone and airpods or headphones they stream audio that they don't own. I think this has applied huge downwards pressure on the home stereo market. There is really no reason to have a home stereo system when any song on the planet is 30 seconds away on youtube or soundcloud.