Smartphones rank among the top technology products owned and/or used, and both smartphones and tablets rank among the top five devices used to connect to the Internet across all the countries surveyed in the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) new "Global Consumer Technology Trends" study.
CEA's new international study provides insights on online consumers in the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Israel, Spain, China, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. The research finds that the capability of consumer electronics devices to connect to the Internet is very important to online consumers across the globe, particularly among those in China (89 percent), Israel (86 percent) and Russia (87 percent). Online consumers from Russia and China spend the most time on the Internet per day (4.0 and 3.9 hours, respectively), while consumers from the Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway) and France spend the least, according to the survey.
Led by sales of mobile connected devices, global consumer technology spending hit a new peak of $1.07 trillion in 2013 and is projected to reach $1.06 trillion in 2014, according to data produced by CEA in partnership with GfK Boutique Research.
CEA's new global trends study shows that average spending on CE devices (both personal and household) is highest among online Israelis and Chinese consumers and lowest among online Americans and Czechs. CEA expects that smartphones and tablets will account for 43 percent of global technology spending in 2014, indicating consumers worldwide are focused on mobility.
Over the next decade, connectivity will be added to billions of objects to bring them "digitally online." This concept of the Internet of Things, also named as one of CEA's recent "Five Technology Trends to Watch," promises to have a dramatic impact on every industry and consumers around the world, starting with the global proliferation of mobile devices.
"While smartphones and tablets remain the leading entry points of mobile connectivity for consumers around the world, it is clear that connectivity will soon no longer center on just these ubiquitous devices," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "Consumer demand for 'anytime/anywhere' connectivity will drive the growth of the Internet of Things, which has even greater economic and social reverberations than we saw with the first wave of the Internet."
More than 1,300 exhibitors focused on wireless and/or mobile tech at the 2014 International CES, making this year's CES the world's largest mobile event. The entire wireless ecosystem, from chip makers, sensor companies, IT and telco/broadband providers, to appliance manufacturers and entertainment companies converged at the 2014 CES.
Notably, innovations in wireless technology were seen across multiple industries, including automotive, health and fitness, home automation and many more.
"From the cars we drive to the homes where we live and everything in between, connectivity is a common thread that ties together the future of innovation," said Shapiro.
CEA's new international study also examines consumer outlook on the tech industries and infrastructure in their respective countries, ownership rates across a variety of product categories and reasons for wanting to purchase CE devices.
The "Global Consumer Technology Trends" study was designed and formulated by CEA. It represents the findings of a quantitative study administered via Internet web form to an online national sample of 750 adults in each of the following markets in August 2013: U.S., United Kingdom, France, Israel, Spain, China, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Country level analysis briefs for Israel, France and Spain are currently available free to CEA members at Members.CE.org.
