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Consumer Electronics Devices

Smart Speaker and Display Adoption Has Grown Steadily Since 2017 but Now Flattened

Consumers now have a deeper relationship with technology. The elevated use of connected devices for entertainment consumption, productivity, and access to services has proven durable even as out-of-home activities resumed. Technology demand remained strong entering 2022, and US internet households now own an all-time high of 16 connected devices on average.

The consumer electronics (CE) category has displayed surprising resilience. Along with the unpredictability of the pandemic and post-pandemic period, supply chain constraints have restricted inventories and disrupted product releases, roadmaps, and pricing schedules. From manufacturing, to transportation, to retail, and other sectors, the industry continues to suffer from staffing shortages, resulting in sub-maximal output. Despite these factors and more, consumers maintained elevated interest and spending on entertainment, productivity, connectivity, connected health, smart home, and other categories, with US internet households’ overall CE purchase intentions reaching a 5-year high in March 2022.

Caution remains necessary, as several challenges will require deft navigation. The supply chain crisis shows signs of easing but will last through 2023. Consumer purchase intentions are expected to flatten, and price sensitivity is growing, as rising prices, inflation, and recession fears all become top of mind for consumers. Agility in inventory, pricing, product planning, and marketing are called for, as the industry may face increased technology spending restraint by consumers soon.

Consumers are relying on more devices, particularly for entertainment.

The number of connected devices per household has grown since 2020 to 16 devices, as their role in entertainment and productivity continues to grow. Arising number of consumers look to the smart TV as the point of entertainment aggregation in the household. As a result, adoption of the smart TV has accelerated. Now 60% of US internet households have a smart TV.

Smart TVs, smart speakers/displays, and desktop PCs experienced growth during the pandemic, but consumers’ post-pandemic device adoption has flattened much of that growth. Smartphones and smart TVs are two exceptions. The growing resumption of out-of-home activities has renewed the value of the smartphone while on the go, and the smart TV has now firmly become consumers’ most-favored primary video consumption device at home. Smart speaker / display adoption has grown steadily since 2017 but is now flat, suggesting that without a renewed or reinvigorated value proposition, the category has quickly reached maturity.


This is an excerpt from Parks Associates Consumer Electronics Dashboard: Q1 2022. The Consumer Electronics Dashboard visualizes the most important metrics informing the strategic decision-making of companies connected to the leading consumer electronics devices in the home.

Consumer Insights Dashboards present survey-based consumer research that tracks the movement of foundational market metrics, such as product or service adoption, household spending intentions, churn, and key tracking metrics on leading industry players.

Parks Associates surveys 10,000 U.S internet households every quarter, with additional surveys throughout the year. The survey results represent the national demographics for US internet households, which are 89% of all US households. It includes insights on:

Adoption of Consumer Electronics Devices 

  • Total Average Number of Connected Devices Per US Broadband Household
  • Total Average Number of Connected CE Devices by Technology Adoption Segment
  • Historical Trends in Adoption of Consumer Electronics Products


CE Device Purchases & Intentions to Purchase

  • Computing & Home Networking Devices Purchased in the Last 6 Months
  • Home Video & Gaming Devices Purchased in the Last 6 Months
  • Audio Devices Purchased in the Last 6 Months
  • Portable Devices Purchased in the Last 6 Months
  • Consumer Electronics Device Purchases and High Intention to Buy
  • Computer & Home Networking Devices Purchase Intention
  • Home Video & Gaming Devices Purchase Intention
  • Audio Devices Purchase Intention
  • Portable Devices Purchase Intention


Competitor Moves: Brand Share in Select Categories

  • Top Brands of Desktop PC Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Laptop Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Smart TV Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Streaming Media Player Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Soundbar Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Earbuds Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Smartphone Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Tablet Purchased or Received
  • Top Brands of Smart Watch Purchased or Received


Appendix

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