According to the study, the top five most owned consumer technology products ranked by US Household penetration are: Smartphones, televisions, notebooks or laptop computers, headphones, and earbuds. Demand for wireless personal audio devices has not wavered — retailers can expect robust personal wireless audio sales. More than one-third (37%) of households show interest in purchasing wireless headphones and true wireless earbuds.
"Consumers want content and technology that works for them, no matter where they are," says Jessica Boothe, Director of Market Research at CTA. "Enthusiasm for wireless and new content formats continue to grow as smartphones have become an integral part of our lives."
Technology demand is stabilizing after a pandemic-driven surge. Across 80 products surveyed with comparable data to last year's study, there was an average decline of 3.7% in the percentage of households planning purchases in the next 12 months. This decline reflects a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Smartphones are ubiquitous in American households, and 37% of households plan to purchase a new smartphone in the next 12 months. Of those, 99% will be repeat buyers, indicating a saturated but loyal technology market. New devices and form factors for every budget are driving this trend.
TV is the most popular screen-based device in US homes, with an estimated 259 million devices installed. Still, TV is increasingly competing with portable screens like smartphones (~255 million), tablets (~115 million) and laptops (~149 million), where users can view video in a variety of formats.
Gaming continues its rise as one of the most popular activities, with more than half of households owning a gaming console. 26% of households plan to purchase a console in the next 12 months. Of those households, 25 million are interested in purchasing a current-generation console, such as the Xbox Series S/X or PlayStation 5.
Consumer demand for technology products is expected to contract slightly in 2023, with 84% of US households planning to purchase tech products in the next 12 months. The number of products consumers plan to purchase is down slightly (a decrease of 3.7% vs. 2022). 5G smartphones are helping to boost consumer purchases, with 5G-capable phones now representing almost two-thirds of all smartphones in owner households' possession.
Digital media streaming device ownership has surged as the cord-cutting trend accelerates, with ownership jumping eight percentage points from 2022. These media streaming devices will help fuel an estimated $46 billion in consumer spending on video streaming services in 2023, according to CTA's 2023 US Consumer Technology Software & Services Forecast.
In the face of high interest and rising car prices, more households are opting for discrete upgrades to their current vehicles as opposed to a new and costlier car. Remote starters and dashcams lead purchase intent among first-time buyers, with an estimated 20 million new households expressing interest.
This annual survey is conducted among US households to learn household ownership (penetration) and understand purchase intent for consumer technology products. The tracking study is completed among 10 technology product categories spanning 80-plus products to provide guidance for the industry on year-over-year trends, products to watch and innovation as new categories enter the market.
The research was administered as an online survey among 2,615 US adults (18-plus) from April 3-25, 2023. The margin of sampling error at 95% confidence for aggregate results is +/-2%. The data was weighted to reflect the known demographics of the U.S. population as reported by U.S. census data, with estimates generalizable to the household level.
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