CE Spending Trending Up

According to the NPD Group, consumers are expected to spend $555 per person on new consumer electronics devices this year, a 9% increase over 2012. Some 72% of consumers surveyed expect to buy a new consumer electronics product over the next 12 months.Flat-panel TVs and tablets are leading the growth. Over the next two years, 28% of consumers expect to buy a flat-panel TV, while 20% intend to buy a tablet, representing the highest purchase intent levels of all devices measured.Purchase expectations for some other categories that were once in high demand are on the decline. For example, Blu-ray player purchase intent declined from 16% in 2012 to 12% in 2013, reflecting both the maturity of the product category and competition from other devices that also deliver video content. Streaming media players, for instance, are owned in just 8% of U.S. households, but Q2 2013 sales nearly equaled Blu-ray volume. The continued sales growth of tablets and connected TVs will also challenge consumer adoption of Blu-ray.