• by Chuck Martin , October 16, 2018

Consumer spending on smart home devices is looking to be robust this year, with overall holiday technology spending projected to reach a record-setting $96 billion, according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

The new study estimates 164 million U.S. adults plan to purchase a tech product as a gift this year, which is on par with 2017, with consumers spending a record amount on IoT categories including smart speakers, smart home devices and smartwatches.

"2018 has shown us that consumers are willing to spend a premium on technology that is essential to their everyday lives, such as smartphones, laptops and TVs, and we expect that dynamic to continue through the season, driving overall holiday consumer tech sales to a new high this year," stated Ben Arnold, senior director of innovation and trends, CTA.

"In addition to those core devices, key emerging categories to watch this holiday season are smart home devices - powered by voice technology - smartwatches and wireless earbuds."

Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, are projected to sell 22 million units, an increase of 44% from last year.More than a third (36%) of consumers plan to purchase a smart home product, including smart speakers, security cameras, smart lightbulbs and video doorbells.

Wearables are also mainstream with nearly one in five consumers planning to buy a smartwatch and 5 million estimated to purchase wireless earbuds.

The five most-wanted devices consumers want to receive are TV, laptop, smartphone or tablet, smartwatch and desktop computer.