Rebecca Day

To say that a lot has changed in the tech world in the 21 years since Consumer Electronics Daily launched Oct. 16, 2001, would be understatement at its best. One of the most profound changes has been a shift from bulky entertainment playback devices to an internet-powered, software-based world with virtual players and streamed content.

Worldwide PC shipments fell year on year for the fifth consecutive quarter as worsening macroeconomic conditions led consumers and businesses to take a cautious approach to spending, reported Canalys Wednesday. Q3 shipments fell 14% from the prior-year quarter to 105.6 million; shipments increased just 1% from Q2 on “major supply disruption” due to COVID-19 lockdowns in China, said the research firm.

Cyber Monday came in at the low end of Adobe’s and eMarketer’s forecast ranges, but it set an all-time online shopping record at $11.3 billion, 5.8% higher than Cyber Monday 2021. During the peak shopping hour -- 11 p.m.-midnight EST – consumers spent $12.8 million per minute, emailed Adobe Analytics Tuesday.

The 2022 holiday shopping season continues to be unpredictable, said National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay on a Tuesday call, announcing Thanksgiving weekend shopping traffic that was higher than expected.

Smart TVs had better-than-expected sell-through on Black Friday, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Monday, saying connected TVs won “the in-store wallet.” Wedbush’s in-store Black Friday consumer electronic channel checks indicated inventory and sell-through were lighter in most categories, aside from smart TVs, “even as elevated inventory threatened to overwhelm tighter demand in the current environment.”

In a retail year that has been difficult to predict, Cyber shopping days through Sunday were higher than expected despite stubborn inflation and rising interest rates. Smartphones drove over half of online sales (52%) for the first time, said a Monday Adobe Analytics report.

Sonos has 93% share of the wireless speaker category in the custom installation channel, said the company’s 10-K report filed with the SEC Wednesday. In FY ’22, ended Oct. 1, Sonos generated 21.2% of revenue through the installer solutions channel. Best Buy generated 15% of revenue.

Thanksgiving Day online sales were higher than expected, reported Adobe Digital Insights Friday. The analytics firm had projected a 1% dip in Thursday sales from Thanksgiving 2021 (see 2211230004), but Friday the analytics firm reported a 2.9% year-on-year uptick to $5.29 billion. Higher figures were driven largely by heavy discounting, emailed analyst Vivek Pandya Friday. Shoppers were enticed by big discounts in toys and electronics, he said. The “surprising” higher spend levels showed “resilient consumer demand,” he said.

U.S. consumers spent $64.59 billion online in the first three weeks of the November-December holiday season, up 0.1% from the Nov. 1-21 period last year, Adobe emailed Wednesday. “The minor uptick” shows consumers “still have a strong appetite for holiday shopping” despite inflation and rising interest rates, said the analytics firm.

The biggest change in the music industry in the past decade is streaming, but the biggest change at Warner Music Group was a change in “mindset,” said outgoing WMG CEO Steve Cooper on the company’s Q4 FY ‘22 earnings call Tuesday.