Report: smartphones, tablets driving consumer electronics
updated 03:48 pm EDT, Tue July 24, 2012
Mobile devices in at least a third of US homes
Smartphones and tablets will push sales in the consumer electronics industry to about $206.5 billion this year. This according to a new analysis out from the Consumer Electronics Association, which notes that this year marks the first that the industry has topped $200 billion in sales. As USA Today details, the study's findings illustrate the increasing importance of smartphones and tablets with regard to the overall health of the consumer electronics sector.
The CEA estimates that smartphones will sell more than 108 million units this year, up 24 percent from 2011 and accounting for $33.7 billion in sales. Tablet sales, meanwhile, are expected to more than double versus their 2011 totals, moving 68.5 million units, 115 percent more than last year. The $29.2 billion in tablets will amount to an 83 percent increase from 2011.
By comparison, the overall consumer electronics market is expected to grow 5.9 percent this year. Smartphones and tablets are expected to account for 30 percent of total electronics revenue.
One-piece sound bar speakers and vehicle-integrated technologies are also thought to be sectors that will improve this year. Those two categories are expected to increase 30 percent and 25 percent, respectively, over their 2011 sales totals.
The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets makes for a stark contrast to projections for the traditional PC industry. In that sector, component manufacturers are expecting drops in revenues as consumers increasingly choose smartphones and tablets for their computing needs.
