Consumers Plan Twice as Many Smartphone Buys Than Tablets, CEA Says

Consumer spending on CE products was down more than $200 per household over the last 12 months, according to a CEA study on CE ownership and spending plans conducted in January. Each average adult spent $552 on CE in the past 12 months, down $100 from the year before, according to the report. CEA attributed the dollar decline to discounting rather than sagging interest in gadgets.

“Consumers continue to purchase electronics, but we see a decrease in overall spending as they are buying at a bargain, seeking deals and discounts on the devices they desire, and taking advantage of declining price points for certain product categories,” said Chris Ely, CEA’s manager of industry analysis. Of the 37 CE devices surveyed, the average U.S. household owns 24, the same number as last year, CEA said. A CEA spokesman said he didn’t believe the study asked respondents how much they planned to spend on CE products over the next 12 months.

Despite the hype and expectations surrounding the tablet market, more than twice as many U.S. households plan to buy smartphones than tablets over the next 12 months, according to the study. Almost half of consumers surveyed -- 46 percent -- said they planned to buy a smartphone, compared with 22 percent planning to buy tablets, 26 percent buying Blu-ray players, 17 percent eyeing HDTVs and 19 percent each for digital media players and e-readers, the study said. Tablets represent the highest growth category for planned CE purchases, however, with 14 percent more consumers planning to buy a tablet this year than last, the study said. “As consumers continue to integrate these mobile connected devices into their everyday lifestyles, we expect to see an increase in ownership of all-in-one devices and related content,” Ely said.

Growing ownership rates for connected devices is fueling an increase in video rental and streaming service subscriptions, CEA noted. Nearly 31 million U.S. households -- 26 percent -- will watch streamed content online this year, it said. Nine percent of new households are expected to subscribe to a video rental and streaming service this year, it said.

Televisions remain the most commonly-owned CE device in the U.S., with 99 percent of U.S. households owning at least one TV, CEA said. The average U.S. household owns 2.9 televisions, and 68 percent of those surveyed reported owning at least one HDTV, it said. Broken down by panel display technology, 54 percent of respondents owned at least one LCD model and 32 percent owned a plasma TV. Among future TV shoppers, 32 percent said they planned to buy a plasma model, according to the study, and 9 percent planned to buy a connected TV.

CEA’s “14th Annual Household CE Ownership and Market Potential Study” was conducted via telephone interview with a random national sample of 2,028 U.S. adults Jan. 26-30. The margin of sampling error at 95 percent confidence for aggregate results is +/- 2.2 percent, CEA said.