The COVID-19 pandemic toll continues to mount, with no end date in sight. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) published new research that shows that the pandemic’s impact on consumer tech spending will continue at least through mid-2022. According to the Consumer Technology Ownership & Market Potential Study, 39% of U.S. households say the pandemic has influenced their tech buying plans.
Smartphones, videogame consoles, and TVs will lead consumer tech purchasing’s 11% growth compared to surveys taken this time in 2020. The trend has legs, and will influence tech buying at least until mid 2022, according to the CTA. Due to the pandemic, U.S. consumers increasingly see tech as a way to make post-pandemic living better. Consumers see the positive benefits for more than just working, learning, and connecting, but also to improve daily living.
“Our latest research shows more consumers want the latest technology innovations to help them lead a happy and healthy 21st century lifestyle,” said Steve Koenig, CTA VP of research.
Year-over-year CTA research numbers show 53% of U.S. households now own a video game console, 10% more than in 2020. Through June 2022, 30% of U.S. home plan to buy a video game console, a 43% increase over last year. Smart speakers, smart appliances, and smart doorbells led smart home tech sales. TVs, digital streaming devices, DVD players, and soundbars all lead in home entertainment systems ownership.
COVID-19 also drove health and wellness tech growth, the CTA reports. Since March 2020, 20% of U.S. households had their first experience with online health services and 20% said they will continue to use the services into 2022. Health tech device usage increased even more than online services. Now 23% of U.S. homes have smart or connected health monitoring devices. In addition, smart watch ownership is 35%, 19% have connected sports or fitness equipment, and 25% now own air purifiers.
