According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), overall holiday technology spending is projected to reach a record-setting $96 billion (between October and December 2018).
The study has estimated that 164 million adults in the USA plan to purchase a tech product as a gift this year, roughly equal to 2017 figures, with consumers spending a record amount on IoT categories including smart speakers, smart home devices and smartwatches.
“2018 has shown us that consumers are willing to spend a premium on technology that is essential to their everyday lives, such as smartphones, laptops and TVs, and we expect that dynamic to continue through the season, driving overall holiday consumer tech sales to a new high this year,” stated Ben Arnold, senior director of innovation and trends, CTA.
“In addition to those core devices, key emerging categories to watch this holiday season are smart home devices – powered by voice technology – smartwatches and wireless earbuds.”
Not surprisingly, the CTA also predicts that smart speakers, including Amazon Echo and Google Home, are slated to sell 22 million units, a boost of 44% in sales over 2017. Meanwhile, 36% of consumers plan to purchase smart home products, such as smart speakers, security cameras, smart lightbulbs and video doorbells.
With wearables also topping gift purchase lists, nearly one in five consumers are planning to buy a smartwatch and 5 million people are estimated to purchase wireless earbuds. The five most-wanted devices consumers want to receive over the holidays are TVs, laptops, smartphones (or tablets), smartwatches and desktop computers.
A couple of interesting facts about our shopping habits have also emerged from the CTA study: first, last year marked the debut of voice as a fourth sales channel joining brick-and-mortar, online and mobile as methods of holiday shopping. In 2018, almost a quarter of respondents plan to research products and sales via a digital assistant and 16 percent plan to make a purchase using voice technology.
Second, fifty-two percent of American tech shoppers this holiday season will shop online and 77 percent plan to shop in brick-and-mortar locations. The number of shoppers who plan to shop using mobile devices will rise to 58 percent. Furthermore, about 33 percent plan to take advantage of same-day delivery, 31 percent in-home delivery (such as Amazon Key or Walmart Delivery), and nine percent plan to use in-app features like camera search.
Will any of our members be giving or receiving tech gifts over the 2018/19 season? Or are you planning to treat yourself to a new TV or UHD BD player? Let us know in the comments below…
Martin, a seasoned journalist and AV expert, has written for several notable print magazines. He’s served in key roles at Lucasfilm’s THX Division, NEC’s digital cinema division, and has even consulted for DreamWorks. Despite his illustrious career, Martin remains rooted in his passion for cinema and acting, with notable appearances in several Spielberg films, Doctor Who, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He currently resides in San Francisco.
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