People Buying More Tech Now Than Ever Before
LCD TV sales grew 160 percent in 2006 in the U.S., as consumers continue to buy more and more technology devices for their homes. Despite concerns of a general slowdown in sales of consumer electronics products, sales were up just over 13 percent last year, bringing in $145.7 billion wholesale for manufacturers.
But this year, sales growth is expected to halve. The market is predicted to still be worth $155 billion and the Consumer Electronics Association said a growth of 6.5 percent in 2007 was still high. “At 6.5 percent, that’s still twice GDP,” said Sean Wargo, director of industry analysis for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
Homes in the U.S. now have 25 pieces of consumer electronics products, compared to just 1.3 in 1975. And people are setting more money aside to buy devices than ever before. Households were on average spending $1,500 in 2006 on new gadgets, and this is expected to rise to $2,000 this year.
“Consumers are adopting new technology faster than ever,” said Wargo. This in part is down to cost reductions. The price for DVD players last year fell 54 percent, 50-in. plasma TVs dropped 32 percent and sub-four-megapixel cameras fell by 40 percent.
High definition take-up in the U.S. is now accelerating, getting closer to the point where sales of HDTVs outstrip those of standard definition sets. “As consumers look for high definition, one reason they can do that is because of flat panels — these are pushing the TV market towards unprecedented heights.” It is expected to be a $26 billion market in 2007.
Sales of HD players, though, were slow last year, partly caused by delays to Blu-ray and partly because of the standards battles between that and the HD DVD camp.
These are likely to diminish with the release of hybrid players, although only one…
