Arlington, Va. — The average American adult spends $1,200 annually on consumer electronics products, according a recently released study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
The study also found teens spend $350 on CE products each year, which the CEA says represents about half of their total annual discretionary income. The study also concluded that households with children and teens tend to spend up to $500 more on CE products than the national average.
The 9th Annual Household and Teen CE Ownership and Market Potential study, which CEA said in a release “reveals the most owned CE products and tracks the growth rates of popular product categories,” also found that the average household owns 25 consumer electronics products.
Among the top-owned products, the top 5 were:
- televisions (owned by 92 percent of U.S. households);
- DVD players or recorders (84 percent);
- VCRs (82 percent);
- cordless phones (82 percent); and
- cellular phones (76 percent).
“Many of the top-owned products have enjoyed mass-market saturation for years and will likely see growth based on upgrade and replacement sales. Some of the more intriguing categories that still occupy niche markets, such as mobile CE devices like GPS systems and satellite radio, which have seen healthy growth in the past few years,” said Elena Caudle, CEA senior research analyst.
A release announcing the study’s findings said that the top five growth categories when compared with 2006 were:
- DVRs;
- network routers or hubs;
- MP3 players;
- cable modems; and
- digital cameras.
“It’s interesting to note here that two of the fastest movers and shakers in the CE industry are devices that enable home networking,” said Caudle. “The other three products enable consumers to create, shift or transport digital content. As consumers continue to embrace digital technology this new convergence will continue to change the way Americans live, work and play.”
The study was designed and formulated by CEA Market Research, and it was conducted in February. The complete report is available for free to CEA member companies, and non-members are said to be able to purchase a copy for $999 at www.ebrain.org.
