US consumer electronics sales to reach all-time high

Consumer electronics industry revenues will grow 3% in 2015 to reach an all-time high of US$223.2 billion €188.2 billion), according to the US’s Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

The CEA’s ‘US Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts’ report claims that smartphones and tablets will continue to be the top two consumer electronics revenue drivers in 2015, accounting for 34.1% of total CE industry revenue.
Smartphone unit shipments in particular are projected to reach 169.3 million this year, up 6% from 2014, with revenues expected to climb 5% year-on-year to US$51.3 billion.

The CEA predicted that unit sales of tablets will climb by 3% year-on-year in 2015 to reach 80.7 million, with revenues to dip 1% to US$24.9 billion.

TV sales are tipped to remain the third largest contributor to CE revenues in 2015, with sales to reach US$18.3 billion, down 2% from 2014. However, the CEA noted that 4K UHD TV “continues to perform better than expected in 2014.”

“Unit shipments of 4K UHD displays are projected to reach four million in 2015, a 208% increase. Revenue from 4K

UHD displays is expected to exceed US$5 billion in 2015, more than double its 2014 total – a 106% increase,” said the CEA.

CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro added: “Our forecast underscores that consumers’ love affair with technology shows no signs of slowing any time soon. Consumer technology is all about continued innovation. In the blink of an eye, consumer demand has taken off for emerging categories such as wearables, unmanned aerial vehicles and 4K Ultra HD – categories that were too small to track just three years ago.”

The CEA runs the Consumer Electronics Show which is running this week in Las Vegas.