Beloit, Wis. — Demand for smartphones, tablets, wearables, and wireless headphones and speakers will be among the CE industry’s growth categories in 2015, based on a FatWallet survey of consumers.
The survey revealed that 75 percent of consumers will buy new electronics this year, up from 72 percent in 2014.
Fifty percent will buy smartphones, up from 48 percent in 2014, and 27 percent will buy new tablets, up from 25 percent. Ten percent will buy wireless/Bluetooth headphones or speakers, up from 7 percent. And 10 percent will buy wearables such as smart watches, fitness bands and the like, up from 6.7 percent.
Demand will remain flat or down in the following categories:
–Wireless home automation: 5 percent, down from 6 percent.
— Streaming-media devices (such as Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV): flat at 8 percent.
–Wireless printers: 11 percent, down from 12 percent.
Among smartphone purchase intenders, 50 percent will buy Androids smartphones, up from 42 percent; 40 percent will buy iPhones (no change); 5 percent will buy Windows phones (down from 9 percent); and 7 percent will buy basic cellphones (down from 11 percent).
Among smartphone intenders, four in 10 will upgrade existing smartphones, one in four will switch brands, one in five will get a bigger screen; 21 percent will buy to change carries to lower their service costs; and 12 percent will buy a smartphone to switch to a no-contact plan.
Something not in the release that may be of interest:
FatWallet also asked smartphone buyers which carrier they would sign with. The responses were as follows:
–24 percent AT&T (down from 26 percent);
— 10 percent T-Mobile (no change);
–11 percent Sprint (up from 7 percent);
–34 percent Verizon (up from 33 percent);
–1 percent Virgin (down from 3 percent); and
–14 percent no contract plans (up from 13 percent).
Among the 27 percent of consumers who said they would buy a tablet:
–42 percent will buy iPads (up from 34 percent);
–15 percent will buy Windows tablets (down 22 percent);
–32 percent want Android tablets (up 31 percent); and
–10 percent want a Kindle tablet (down 15 percent from 2014).
FatWallet.com works with more than 1,700 retailers to publish store coupons, discounts, coupon codes and cash-back rewards to members. Participating retailers include Kohl’s, Best Buy, eBay and Amazon.
