The consumer electronics industry will see overall shipment revenues top $173 billion in the United States in 2008, according to new data released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The semi-annual U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast shows CE shipment revenues will grow by 7.3 percent this year, reaching more than $183 billion by 2009.
"The CE industry is a backbone of economic activity in this country," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. "In a tough economy, consumers turn to CE products for many reasons - from entertaining in the home to telecommuting to save gas. Such factors - and access to global consumers through free trade - help the CE industry to flourish while growth rates of other industries have either stalled or declined. Consumers donÃ't want to live without CE products and continue to crave the latest gadgets and innovations our industry has to offer."
ConsumersÃ' desire to stay entertained and informed at all times is propelling smartphones to new levels. Smartphones will see revenue growth of 51 percent this year, comprising 28 percent of total wireless handset shipments.
"Consumers are lining up in front of retail stores to get their hands on the latest smartphones," says Koenig. "When it comes to cell phones, call and texting features are not enough for many consumers these days. They want the ability to check email, surf the Internet, play games, watch videos, listen to music and navigate to new locations all on one device. Smartphones provide all this and more."
Posted to the site on 22nd July 2008
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