Consumer Electronics Spending Expected To Be Down

With the consumer electronics industry seeing slower growth in spending on smartphones and tablets, the Consumer Electronics Association predicts that global spending will fall slightly by about 1% to $1,055 billion from the record levels of 2013, according to multichannel.com.

In the CEA's annual predictions for the tech sector presented Sunday before the start of this year's International CES, the North American market will also see a slight 1% decline in spending, to about $254 billion, according to Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for the CEA.

CEA executives described the current period as a transitional one between the growth spurt produced by the introduction of smartphones and tablets in the last few years and the next big wave of innovation.

“We are waiting for the next cycle of innovation to lift us again,” Koenig said.

On the tablet and smartphone front, unit sales will still be strong and overall spending will grow. But manufacturers are increasingly pushing less expensive products, which is slow the rate of revenue growth at a time when no new “must-have” category of devices has emerged.

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