Tech Demand Grows Like ‘Never Seen,’ NPD’s Baker Tells Virtual Conference

The pandemic spurred “historic” growth in demand for most consumer tech products since March, Stephen Baker, NPD vice president-industry adviser, technology and mobile, told the Display Week virtual conference (see 2008030053) in a prerecorded segment streamed Monday. “We’re seeing broad-based growth in the consumer electronics business,” with most categories “doing fabulously,” he said. Demand is growing “in ways that we’ve never seen,” said Baker. “This is a broad and deep growth opportunity across all of the consumer electronics market.” Amid stay-at-home mandates, “tech is no longer a discretionary spend,” he said. “It really is a necessity. More than many, many general merchandise categories, tech demand leverages its strengths in entertainment, in work from home, in education from home.” The momentum is “likely to provide us with some staying power for technology sales, regardless of what the overall economy looks like over the next few quarters.” The “success of online” now is the “biggest story” in consumer tech, said Baker. “We’re here to tell you that in-store has likely passed its peak.” Price and product are now “much more important than place,” he said. NPD estimates consumer tech retail sales grew 24% in Q2, racking up $5 billion in “incremental” revenue, said Baker. “Four of the five busiest non-holiday weeks NPD has ever tracked” came in Q2, he said. The industry did slightly more than $1.75 billion in sales the third week of March when much of the U.S. went into quarantine, he said. “We thought that was an enormous week that would never be repeated. That was one of the smallest weeks we’ve seen in the last four months.”