Arlington, Va. — Parents and teens are expected to spend $3.1 billion on CE devices this back-to-school shopping season, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
The survey was part of a study, called Back to School CE Spending, conducted in July.
The survey found that 72 percent of teens expect to have a new CE product to bring back to school, and almost 70 percent of teens expect to spend at least some of their own money on supplies. In fact, CEA predicts teen spending will reach $600 million for CE devices alone.
Computers and calculators are expected to be among the most-wanted products this season. However, CEA predicts MP3 players will also be popular, particularly in cases where teens are spending their own money for supplies.
“That they would choose to spend their money on CE devices shows how highly teenagers value these items as essential tools for school,” said Steve Koenig, CEA’s industry analysis senior manager.
In an effort to boost sales, CEA has convinced some states to introduce sales tax holidays for computer and computer-related products, inspired by similar holidays often held for clothing and footwear products. Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee will all hold sales tax holidays Aug. 4-6, and Georgia will hold its holiday Aug. 3-6.
