US households are buying fewer consumer electronics (CE) products, and this trend is set to continue, according to Parks Associates. In 2008, 87% of households bought a CE product, but this dropped to 74% in 2016.
Contributing to the slow decline are game consoles, connected Blu-ray and DVRs, with many consumers happy with their existing products. In addition, flat screens and smartphones are reaching saturation point. The only devices to spark an interest currently are voice-activated personal assistants, such as Amazon Echo. Innovations like VR headsets and 4K TVs are still not widely recognised. 87% of VR headset buyers are purchasing for the first time.
Broadband households currently own 8.1 connected CE products on average, up 76% from 2010, and half have a smart TV. Meanwhile ownership of game consoles has fallen to 49% this year from 58% in 2010.
