Commentary

Consumer Tech Sales Heading To $400 Billion This Year

Consumer technology sales are on the rise.

Pushed along by artificial intelligence-enabled devices, in-vehicle technology and streaming services, the U.S. consumer tech industry will reach $401 billion in retail revenue this year, according to a new study by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

Revenue is being driven by a wide range of technologies, from smart homes to streaming video.

Smart home sales, including Wi-Fi cameras, smart thermostats, smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, smart locks and doorbells and smart switches are projected to reach 29 million units this year, for 19% annual growth, with $4.5 billion in revenue.

Sales of smart speakers, most notably the Amazon Echo and Google Home lines, should reach 35 million units, an increase of 1% from last year and reaching $3 billion in revenue.

The home robot category, including devices for vacuuming, lawn mowing and floor cleaning, is expected to grow to sales of 4 million devices, a 12% increase.

Wireless earbuds, such as Apple Air Pods and Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro, are projected to sell nearly 16 million units, a 45% increase, and reach about $2 billion in revenue.

Smartwatches, the hottest of the wearables category, are projected to reach sales of $5.4 billion with 20 million watches selling, a 7% increase from a year ago.

The big revenue is with smartphones, accounting for $77.5 billion with 166 million units selling. CTA expects 5G-enabled devices will each 2 million units sold this year.

Sales of televisions, still the centerpiece technology in many homes, are projected at 39 million sets for revenue of $21.4 billion, a decrease of 9%.

The largest revenue increase of any tech category is factory-installed in-vehicle technology, increasing $1 billion from a year ago to reach $17.6 billion this year.

Video streaming services revenue is projected to reach $17.7 billion, on-demand music services $8 billion and gaming $38.9 billion.

Consumer tech is hardly taking a breather.

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