Las Vegas: The US consumer technology industry is expected to reap $287 billion (Dh1.05 trillion) in retail revenues in 2016 due to continued growth of innovations comprising the Internet of Things (IoT), a top industry official said.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA), said at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that 2016 will be another great year for consumers.
As more products become connected, “we’ll be able to manage our lives in ways that weren’t possible even just a few years ago,” he said.
Jose Taylor, Panasonic North America chairman and CEO, at CES in Las Vegas on Tuesday, where the company launched their latest home automation products, 4K cameras and ultra-high-definition premium TV.
The exponential growth of IoT and the lightning-fast speed of innovation are key reasons “we’ll see such strong growth” across so many tech categories.
He said that highly sophisticated technology is becoming more affordable and accessible - improving our safety, productivity and entertainment.
Main growth drivers
According to the CTA’s latest version of the US Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts, unveiled at CES, well-established technologies including smartphones, televisions and laptops will continue to drive the US retail revenues and lead to one per cent industry growth in 2016.
While these categories - together with tablets and desktops - account for 51 per cent of the consumer tech industry’s revenue, Shapiro said that the catalysts for industry growth are newer innovations such as wearables, virtual reality and drones.
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While CTA forecasts overall industry growth in 2016, the strong household penetration of mature categories, such as tablets, televisions, PCs and laptops, and continued industry innovation are declining or slowing growth and placing pressure on margins for some manufacturers and retailers.
However, despite a projected 65 per cent increase in revenue for Ultra High-Definition (UHD or 4K) TVs in 2016, CTA expects revenue for the overall TV market to not increase this year.
Journalists at a press event in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show opening on Tuesday.
CTA forecasts that smart TVs are projected to sell 27 million units in 2016, a 13 per cent increase over 2015, and streaming media players will sell 15.8 million units (five per cent increase).
Speakers, wearables
Connected speakers and wireless headphones are the standout categories in audio.
Unit sales of Bluetooth/Airplay-capable speakers are expected to reach 17.4 million units in 2016 - a 40 per cent increase - and $1.5 billion in revenue, while sales of wireless headphones will reach 3.9 million in unit sales (increasing 30 per cent), and $623 million in revenue.
Led by the popularity of fitness activity trackers and smart watches, unit sales among all wearables in 2016 are forecast to reach 38.4 million units.
Fitness activity tracker volumes will hit 17.4 million units in 2016 - a 12 per cent increase from 2015 - with revenues reaching $1.3 billion.
Smart watches are expected to increase 28 per cent to 13.6 million units, earning $3.7 billion in revenue, an increase of 22 per cent.
Shapiro said that aggressive competition, longer product replacement cycles and disruptive innovation replacing legacy products create “challenges for segments of our industry.”
“However, we believe newer categories, continuing innovation and improving economic conditions provide additional cause for industry optimism,” he said.
Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and senior director of research at CTA said that digitisation is rapidly changing the landscape of people’s daily lives, and consumers are clearly choosing to infuse tech in all facets of their lives.
“We are at a time when new tech categories can come out of seemingly nowhere and lead to disruption in the blink of an eye,” he said.
