Analysts Expect Earlier Holiday Shopping Amid Virus, 5G Purchases in 2021

Some 35% of consumers plan to shop earlier this holiday season, Piper Sandler emailed investors Thursday. More than half of consumers are “very much” avoiding large/crowded stores, up from 49% in June, while 52% expect to shop online more than before COVID-19. The analysts see a “strong pipeline of product cycles” in the second half and in 2021 driven by 5G smartphones, 5G home networking, 8K TVs and PlayStation 5 and Xbox launches. Half of iPhone owners are more interested in buying a new one this year vs. second half 2019 due to the likely launch of 5G models. Average time spent watching TV daily increased to 2.3 hours in September vs. 2.1 in June, twice pre-coronavirus levels. Cable TV (3 hours), Netflix (2.3) and YouTube (2.3) had the highest daily viewership, remaining relatively consistent over the past five months. Disney+ (1.9) exceeded a forecast. Some 43% of September respondents used a telehealth platform in the past three months vs. 28% in June.