Synovate study predicts which consumer electronics will be under Christmas trees in the US this year
13 December 2007
CHICAGO — As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, new study results by global market research firm Synovate show what’s hot and what's not in consumer electronics this year.
According to the latest findings from Synovate DuraTrend, a continuous tracking study that measures sales of over 200 types of household durable products throughout the year, both in-store and online, the hottest electronic products in the US this holiday season will be LCD televisions, video game players and GPS navigation systems.
"Despite all the mixed economic news around housing and energy costs, it seems that consumers still feel comfortable spending lots of money on electronic products during this holiday shopping season," said Steve Levine, senior vice president of Synovate's Technology and Telecommunications group. Levine added, "Consumer electronics have become the modern day toys for adults."
Dollar and unit share on LCD televisions has grown substantially, more than doubling during the 3rd quarter of 2007 compared to the same time period in 2006. As LCD has emerged, the dollar share of plasmas has dropped substantially, from 10.8% in the third quarter of 2006 to 5.4% in the third quarter of 2007.
"There are widespread perceptions that plasma has a shorter life span, is more fragile and more expensive," said Levine. "With competitive pricing and screen resolution continuing to improve, it looks like LCD is here to stay. In addition, when one factors in that the US is about to adopt digital as the programming media standard, we should only see a continuing growth of digital-ready screens."
Video games players are also up significantly, with unit share volume increasing 57.7% in Q3 2007 from the first three quarters of 2006, and dollar share volume increasing by 46.4%, indicating that as the quality of game players continues to go up, so do the sales.
GPS navigation systems are also in high demand this year, with a whopping 240% increase in unit volume through Q3 2007 and almost doubling in dollar share compared to the same time last year.
"It's apparent that GPS is no longer a tool that only the wealthy can afford. It has gone mainstream and is becoming an accessory that we all rely on," states Levine.
Digital still camera purchases are only up by about 5%, both in unit share and dollar share among consumer electronic items. One of the factors affecting the growth of digital still cameras is the increase in mobile phones with better quality built-in cameras. However, digital still cameras still enjoy the biggest unit share of the consumer electronics market, at 21.3%, followed by laptop / notebook computers at 14.8% and MP3 / digital music players at 13.6%. Dollar share is, of course, dominated by the more expensive electronics items including laptop / notebook computers at 34.1%, LCD TVs at 27.4% and digital still cameras at 11.3%.
Contact(s) for this press release
|
Jennifer Chhatlani
Vice President, Marketing & Communications |
|
|
222 South Riverside Plaza |
Tel: +1 312 526 4359 |
Synovate's DuraTrend is the oldest continuously running consumer purchase tracking program for durable items in the U.S., including appliances, consumer electronics, digital imaging, home improvement, lawn & garden, power tool and other hard line markets. Coupled with Synovate's custom research expertise and world class solutions, DuraTrend's comprehensive tracking system combines online delivery and powerful online software for unmatched market insight. For more information on DuraTrend contact George Griffin at george.griffin@synovate.com.
About Synovate
Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions. The network provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of research solutions. Synovate employs over 6,000 staff across 62 countries.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.