Dubai: Consumers in the UAE have spent an average of Dh4,000 on consumer electronics this year, marginally down from Dh4,793 in 2014, according to a survey from consumer electronics retailer, Plug Ins.
The drop in spending is a result of lower prices of consumer electronics, according to Omar Abu Shaban, general manager at Plug Ins.
“There’s price erosion in the industry. Panel pricing has eroded 30-40 per cent from last year to this year; smartphones have also eroded in terms of pricing; and tablets’ [prices] have come down,” he told Gulf News on the sidelines of a press conference in Dubai on Monday.
He, however, dismissed concerns that there’s less consumer demand in the market.
“The common misconception is that there’s less appetite in the industry. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. I think you’re seeing competition drive prices down and that’s good for consumers,” he said.
However, Colin Beaton, managing director at retail consultancy, Limelight Creative Services, said that the UAE retail sector has softened this year due to macroeconomic factors.
“We are seeing declining sales of consumer electronics due to a combination of factors, such as lower oil prices, the perception that the economy is slowing down and fewer tourists [from source markets like Russia and Europe],” he said.
According to the UAE Consumer Electronics (CE) survey, 91 per cent of respondents made a major electronics purchase over the last year, with smartphones (69 per cent) topping the list, followed by televisions, laptops, tablets, cameras and wearable devices.
The UAE consumer electronics market is estimated to be worth between Dh14 billion and Dh15 billion this year, Abu Shaban said.
The online survey gathered responses from 2,450 people from 59 nationalities over a two-week period running from August 27 to September 12.
It suggests that 47 per cent of respondents are willing to pay between Dh2,001 and Dh3,000 for a smartphone.
“Most people are looking to pick up flagship models from Samsung, Apple and some of the key brands out there,” Abu Shaban said.
He added that the share of business between Samsung and Apple in the UAE is changing, with Samsung’s share at around 42 per cent this year, down from the 50s range last year.
Also, around 42 per cent of the survey’s respondents said that they want to change their smartphones every two years.
In terms of televisions, consumers want bigger and bigger screen sizes, according to the survey.
This year, 43 per cent of consumers surveyed own 40-42 inch panels, and close to 45 per cent said their next panel size would be 46-50 inches.
Meanwhile, wearable devices are not popular in the country, with only 16 per cent of respondents saying that they own a wearable device.
“Of the ones that plan on purchasing, the Apple Watch leads at 72 per cent,” Abu Shaban said.
