“The demise of
the traditional
‘big-box’ CE
store in favor of
more specialized
and targeted
formats
which focus on delivering an
experience for their respective
categories.” —
David J. Workman
,
Executive Director/COO,
PRO Buying Group
“With the
steady growth
and adoption of
3D imaging and
devices, we may
begin to see a
new level of
technology that will allow us to
capture and share virtual threedimensional
space and enjoy using
the new and unique 360-degree
imaging devices that will
capture the places and events
of our lives.” —
Eliott Peck
, Sales
VP/GM, Canon U.S.A.’s Imaging
Technologies & Communications
Division
“The expansion
of the mobile
commerce
platform and
advancements
in smartphone
technology will
have the most dramatic influence
on the CE industry over the
next five years.” —
Peter Brinkman
,
VP Corporate Marketing,
Casio America
“Bandwidth.” —
Jay Buchanan
,
Electronics
Division Director,
Nebraska
Furniture Mart
“We will see smartphones
and tablets
with personalized content
and control, which
will be the ‘Trojan
Horse’ that makes the
connected home mainstream.” —
Jim
Ristow
, Executive VP, BrandSource /
Home Entertainment Source
“The redefinition of CE, the long-sought
‘whole-home solutions’ business, will become
the norm, with easy-to-use, intuitive,
readily upgradable “smart” systems for communications,
energy management, home
healthcare, transportation, and economical
and practical support for daily work and
home life.” —
Joseph M. Taylor,
Chairman/
CEO, Panasonic Corp. of North America
“Media will go away, and everything will be
streamed from somewhere else, ultimately the
Cloud. It levels the playing field for all. Once that
happens, we can maybe get back to making finer
transducers, charge more, become more profitable
again and drive cooler stuff.” —
Robert A. Cole,
President, Bob & Ron’s World Wide Stereo
“We are in the midst of the next wave of seamless
integration of hardware and software where
innovations like app-based platforms and smart
devices unleash the full potential of sharing and
accessing content in a Cloud-based environment.
This is spurring the creation of new products as the
industry seeks new ways to provide seamless access,
satisfying the consumers’ insatiable desire for
content, information and staying connected.” —
Tim Baxter,
President/
CE Division, Samsung Electronics America
“I believe the most dramatic change will be in how
the customer shops for and purchases product. The
merging of the Internet and the mobile device and the
evolving social media network will dramatically alter
how merchants go to market.” —
Bill Trawick
, President/
Executive Director, NATM Buying Corporation
“Will we have a body-monitoring chip installed to
warn us of potential dangers to our body? With
1,825 days to ponder, five years seems like a very
long time with giant computers and the cell explosion
we may well correspond by thought transmission.
With new technology developing daily,
1,800-plus days is challenging to predict.” —
Con
Maloney
, Chairman, Cowboy Maloney’s Electric
“The opportunity to leverage the capabilities of
advanced technology in the connected world. And,
most importantly, translating this to a great consumer
experience that stimulates a broader basket
of items purchased. The profit will come from the
complete transaction versus the stand-alone margin
on a single device.” —
Michael Fasulo
, Executive
VP/Sales Operations, Sony Electronics
“Developments that will certainly influence dramatic
change include Tax Nexus legislation, vendor
direct-to-consumer sales, how content will be monetized,
and connecting with consumers in a world
of unstructured data e.g. social media, m-commerce
and disruptive mobility. Lastly, I believe specialty
retail will be energized by new smaller niche retail
formats with all-channel integration.” —
George
Manlove
, Chairman, President & CEO, Vann’s
“The channels
of trade are
shifting and
will be significantly
different
than what we
traditionally
see today.” —
Jim Bazet,
Chairman/
CEO, Cobra Electronics
“We expect the most dramatic change to be exponentially
more compelling integration across a
range of products and devices. This will allow for
easy access to all types of digital content anytime,
anywhere, on any connected device. We will also see
the retail marketplace continue to evolve to meet
the consumer where they are, and in the palm of
their hand.” —
Mike Vitelli
, President/The Americas, Best Buy
“New companies
and
services will
breakthrough
quickly, home
health care will
become big,
and tough macroeconomics will
challenge all of us.” —
Gary
Shapiro
, President/CEO, Consumer
Electronics Association
“Cloud Services
will truly give
customers the
ability to drive
their lifestyle
rather than
dependent on
others driving their lifestyle. Our
entertainment/information will
truly become available when the
customer demands that service
to be available.” —
Mike Troetti
,
President, Coby Electronics
“The greatest
change will be
the power of
consumers and
their influence
in development
of products,
services and distribution channels.”
—
Jay Vandenbree
,
Senior VP and head of U.S. Home
Entertainment Business, LG Electronics
“Digital content
delivered
to smart TV’s,
tablets PCs,
smartphones,
automobiles
and other devices.”
—
Marc Sculler
, President,
Bell’O International
“There will be big changes in retail distribution. The
storefront we know today will be totally different.
You will be able to see, touch, feel and experience
the products at retail, then touch an icon in the store
and it will be available the same day. With products
there will be 3D, 4K paper-thin displays that you
could roll out onto a wall.” —
Tom Campbel
l,
President, Tom Campbell Enterprises
“Content and
information
are the driving
forces behind
CE now, and I
think we will
see the advent
of consumers having one content
source that they can easily
experience in home, in vehicle
or anywhere they happen to be,
which will drive all manner of
new devices and services.” —
Tom Sumner
, President, Yamaha
Electronics Corporation, USA
“In the next
five years, CE
companies will
need to prepare
for a further
shift from selling
stand-alone
devices to selling software applications
for highly capable connected
devices like smartphones
and tablets. Our Viper SmartStart
is a great example — displacing
the traditional keyfob remote
starter with the smartphone.” —
Michael S. Simmons,
Executive
VP, Directed Electronics
“I see connectivity
as the most
significant feature
in any new
consumer electronics
product.
We have become
a data-driven society and we demand
products that deliver more
information, more flexibility and
faster response time. The companies
that respond to that will shape
the consumer electronics future.” —
John J. Shalam
, Founder and Chairman,
Audiovox Corporation
“In the next five
years we will see
the proliferation
of home automation
and control.
Smart appliances
will contribute
to this technology wave making
the kitchen the heartbeat of the
household. Automation will also
facilitate ‘aging in place’ solutions
for the Baby Boomer generation.” —
Jeannette Howe,
Executive Director,
Specialty Electronics Nationwide
