Consumer Technology Sales on Track for 3.2% Growth This Year, Says CTA

Consumer technology sales are on track for 3.2 percent growth this year to $321 billion ($251 billion wholesale), said a Wednesday CTA report. CTA projects drones, OLED TV and virtual reality (VR) technology will each cross the $1 billion in revenues for the first time in 2017. Among emerging technologies, wearables -- including fitness trackers, other health and fitness devices, hearables, over-the-counter hearing devices and smartwatches -- are expected to see 9 percent revenue growth over 2016 to 48 million units, ringing up $5.6 billion, said CTA. Smart home products -- including thermostats, detectors, Wi-Fi cameras, smart locks and doorbells, systems and switches and dimmers -- are forecast to grow 48 percent over 2016 to $3.3 billion, said the trade group. Growth will continue in 4K TVs, on pace for a 59 percent jump over 2016 to 16.7 million units, generating $14.6 billion, CTA said. Sales of digital assistant devices, such as Amazon Echo, Google Home and the upcoming Apple HomePod, are expected to spike 53 percent to 11 million units, pulling in $1.3 billion in revenue, while mobile VR headsets are forecast to surge 79 percent vs. last year to 5.3 million units, generating $1.3 billion, said CTA. Sales of drones under 250 grams (about one-half pound) -- the FAA’s cutoff for mandatory drone registration -- are projected to grow 40 percent over last year, reaching 3.4 million units with $1.1 billion revenue, it said. In maturing categories, where the top five revenue categories account for 53 percent of total industry revenue, smartphones will advance 3 percent this year to 185 million shipments, totaling $55.6 billion in revenue, said CTA. Tablets, meanwhile, will decline again in 2017, dropping 5 percent to 59 million units, generating an 8 percent drop in revenues to $16 billion. After record unit shipments in 2016, LCD TV unit shipments will slip 1 percent in both units (40 million) and revenue ($18 billion). Laptop sales are projected to rise 2 percent, including commercial and consumer channels, reaching $28 billion in sales, but a 1 percent decline in dollars, CTA said. Automotive technology, joining the top five hardware categories in revenue for the first time this year, will produce $15 billion in revenue, a 12 percent increase over 2016, it said.