CEA Says '07 Sales Will Hit $160B

By TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 7/19/2007

Arlington, Va. — Total factory-to-dealer sales of consumer electronics (CE) will surpass $160 billion in 2007 for 8 percent industry growth, according to new forecasts released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

In its January report issued during International CES, CEA estimated that 2007 sales would reach $155.2 billion.

“CEA’s midyear projections show additional growth ahead in the consumer electronics industry,” said CEA president/CEO Gary Shapiro. “Just when we think we’ve reached the limits of our expansion, our industry continues to reach greater and greater heights. We are changing the lives of consumers every day by creating the products and innovations they love. Our latest industry projections demonstrate that consumers simply cannot live without their consumer electronics.”

The midyear edition of the report contains two notable features. The first is a record participation rate by companies that supply CEA with their industry sales projections. More than 60 companies contributed to this latest report, enhancing the accuracy of the forecast.

The second feature is expanded coverage of existing product categories such as high-definition televisions, personal computers and cellular phones as well as the addition of new categories. Among the new product categories are set-top boxes, next-generation DVD players, VoIP adapters, digital photo frames, smartphones and MP3 player speaker docks. Detailed information regarding these new and expanded product categories is available in the full report.

“Our mission is to grow the consumer electronics industry, and expanding our coverage and participation makes this forecast report the most comprehensive and accurate of all data reports in the CE industry. We are continually looking for ways to make our data more representative of the industry and more valuable to our audiences,” said Steve Koenig, CEA industry analysis senior manager.

Accessories have emerged as a powerful booster to overall CE sales as consumers seek to enhance their CE experience. CEA predicts accessories sales will reach almost 9 billion dollars with more than 317 million accessories units shipped in 2007. The full report features a breakdown of accessories shipments in specific product categories, including audio/video, digital imaging, wireless, video games and personal computer products.

The single largest contributor in terms of dollar sales continues to be display technologies. Forecasted to reach shipment totals of $26 billion for 2007, the display category — including the category’s anchor, flat-screen digital televisions — continues to grow as consumers embrace digital technologies with more than 30 million digital televisions projected to ship by year’s end, CEA said.

The portable communications market will also grow substantially in 2007. CEA is projecting that more than $20 billion will be spent on portable devices, an increase of 12 percent over 2006. This is in part due to consumer demand for anytime, anywhere devices that enable entertainment content and business applications on the go. Smartphones, including the Apple iPhone, typify consumer demand for converged wireless capabilities including email, Internet browsing, instant messaging as well as audio and video entertainment, CEA reported.

U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts 2003-2008 (July 2007) is published twice per year, in January and July, and designed and formulated by CEA Market Research. The complete report is available free to CEA member companies. Non-members may purchase the study for $999 at www.ebrain.org.