Retail Observer

T he latest version of CTA's industry report, U.S. Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts, says sales of burgeoning tech products such as wearables, smart home devices and drones will deliver an increase of 1.3 percent over last year's industry revenues. "We're in the midst of a critical transition period, as more IoT products offer the anytime/anywhere access and seamless experiences that today's consumers want and need," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. "This is a pivotal point in consumer technology history, as emerging tech categories— virtual reality, voice-controlled digital assistants, drones—push the entire industry forward. And the value of these innovations goes far beyond entertainment—today's technology is changing our lives for the better." The five largest categories of the tech industry, including smartphones, tablets, LCD televisions, laptops and desktop computers, will collectively contribute $114 billion - or 51 percent - to the tech industry's revenue this year, and smartphones and TVs will be responsible for most of that growth in 2016. However, in 2017, for the first time in several years, these five categories combined will account for a little less than half of industry revenue. CTA is the nation's largest tech trade association, and its consensus forecast reflects U.S. factory sales-to-dealers for more than 300 tech products. The semi-annual report serves as a benchmark for the consumer tech industry, charting the size and growth of underlying categories. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY CATEGORIES: • 4K Ultra High-Definition (4K UHD) ecosystem: 2016 will be a flagship year for 4K UHD TVs, driven in part by the market introduction of next-generation technologies like HDR. CTA expects shipments of 4K UHD displays will reach 15 million units (a 105 percent increase), and revenue will exceed $12.9 B R O A D E R A D O P T I O N O F T H E I N T E R N E T O F T H I N G S ( I O T ) A N D E N T H U S I A S M F O R E M E R G I N G T E C H N O L O G Y W I L L D R I V E T H E U . S . C O N S U M E R T E C H N O L O G Y I N D U S T R Y T O $ 2 8 6 . 6 B I L L I O N I N R E T A I L R E V E N U E S ( $ 2 2 4 B I L L I O N W H O L E S A L E ) I N 2 0 1 6 , A C C O R D I N G T O T H E C O N S U M E R T E C H N O L O G Y A S S O C I A T I O N ' S ( C T A ) ™ S E M I - A N N U A L F O R E C A S T . INDUSTRY REPORT— CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION IoT adoption, emerging tech driving technology industry to revenue growth, says CTA midyear forecast A S S O C I A T I O N N E W S

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