Tech Sales to Grow Less Than 1% This Holiday, After Strong 2020, Says CTA
After an outsized 2020 season, when the COVID-19 pandemic drove consumers to invest heavily in home office and home entertainment products, spending on tech during the holiday season will grow just 0.5% year on year to $142.5 billion October-December, said CTA Tuesday. The October-December spend in 2020 was $141.8 billion, a 10.9% increase from 2019.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
An online survey of 2008 consumers Sept. 9-13 showed an average outlay of $541, with shoppers expecting to spend 41% of their budget on themselves, 37% on their spouse. About 191.3 million U.S. adults plan to buy technology as a gift this holiday season, a record high, CTA said.
The top five wish list items are smartphones, laptop computers, wearable devices, TVs and video game consoles and tablets/e-readers tied for fifth, said CTA. A “notable change” from recent years is the trend for retailers to “pull forward and capture sales earlier in the holiday season -- particularly in the wake of recent and ongoing supply chain challenges many consumers are actively watching,” said Lesley Rohrbaugh, CTA director-market research.
Forty-eight percent of holiday tech shoppers are expecting to buy a smartphone as a gift, up from 41% in 2019. Sixty-two percent of overall holiday smartphone buyers expect to buy a 5G phone; 29% plan to buy a foldable model.
COVID-19 has propped up interest in health and safety products, said CTA, citing 29% interest in smart or connected health monitoring devices, such as those used to measure body temperature, sleep patterns or blood pressure; 32% interest in buying a smart home security camera; and 24% interest in buying smart cleaning devices such as UV light sanitizers. About 45% plan to buy a video game console; 71% plan to buy at least one content-related product this season, such as a gaming, video, fitness or audio streaming services, CTA said.
The work-at-home theme will continue to play out this holiday season, CTA said, as consumers look to expand or “accessorize” their home office workspaces. Twenty-nine percent of respondents planned to buy a printer, 27% a desktop PC and 25% a computer monitor purchase, it said.