Research firm releases new consumer research on connected consumer electronics market 

Parks Associates today released new consumer research showing more than 25% of U.S. broadband households made their most recent CE purchase through an online retailer, boosted in large part by smart speaker sales. 360 View: Connected CE and Trends shows national or local brick & mortar retailers account for nearly 50% of recent CE purchases, while service providers such as AT&T and Comcast account for 13% and purchases direct from a manufacturer represent 11% of recent sales.

Where Consumers Most Recently Purchased Their CE Products | Parks Associates

“Overall e-commerce accounts for 9-10% of all U.S. retail sales, so CE products sales are well above that average,” said Kristen Hanich, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “The popularity of smart speakers in particular are driving online sales, with more than 60% of recent sales going through an online retailer such as Amazon. Since intention to purchase for smart speakers is also growing year-over-year, online retailers stand to take an even larger part of CE purchases going forward.”

With a mature smartphone market, growth in the connected CE space is increasingly being driven by connected video and audio devices such as smart TVs, streaming media players, and smart speakers with personal assistants.

“Overall CE purchase expectations for 2018 are lower than reported in previous years,” Hanich said. “This decline is in line with current trends, although actual purchase rates are typically higher than reported intentions, as consumers cannot always plan their purchases in advance. However, since the replacement cycles for TV and streaming devices are longer than those of smartphones, manufacturers will eventually face the challenging of convincing buyers to purchase an upgrade. One strategy is to integrate voice control into TVs and remotes, to enhance the user experience.”

Additional research also reveals:

  • As of Q1 2018, only 21% of U.S. broadband households intended to purchase a smartphone, as compared to 28% of HHs in Q1 2017.
  • 87% of smart watch owners rank features as a top five purchase consideration.
  • Smart speaker households own an average of four more CE devices than non-smart speaker households: 45% own 12 or more CE devices.

 

For more information about 360 View: CE Adoption and Trends, contact sales@parksassociates.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Julia Homier at julia.homier@parksassociates.com, 972-996-0202.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates is a global research, consulting, and marketing firm with 40 years of experience delivering proprietary consumer data and industry insights for businesses. The firm produces market research reports, forecasts, surveys, and competitive business intelligence on connected consumer, small business, and commercial technologies and related business solutions. Parks Associates provides custom research, strategic consulting, and forward-looking analysis across connected home, small business, and commercial markets, including security, smart home, broadband, entertainment, energy, multifamily, smart buildings, connected health, and emerging AI-driven technologies.

Parks Associates supports industry growth through proprietary research, consulting, and executive networking and convenes thousands of leaders each year through its flagship conferences, including CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. Learn more at https://www.parksassociates.com.

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