Mobile Industry Pushing Consumer Electronic Sales To Record $206 Billion

The mobile industry primarily in the form of tablets and smartphones will apparently propel overall U.S. consumer electronics sales to more than $206 billion this year, an all-time high for revenue.

The mobile industry data is contained in a forecast released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The CEA’s Electronic Sales and Forecast projections reveal an overall 5.9 percent surge in consumer electronics sales in 2012 and anticipates a 4.5 percent increase in 2013, or nearly $216 billion.

According to HispanicBusiness.com, based on the CEA data, “Combined, smartphones and tablets are expected to account for 30 percent of all electronics revenue this year.” The website also quotes Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis, that “these devices are the catalysts, the new means of interacting, that are really changing our relationship with technology.”

In analyzing the mobile industry data, CEA President/CEO Gary Shapiro commented that “Consumers’ desire for connected devices is pushing projected revenues higher than originally anticipated, but the long-term health of our industry relies on a strong and growing U.S. economy.”

CEA data suggest that tablet unit sales will reach 68.5 million ($29 billion in revenue). Tablet revenue increased by an astounding 83 percent according to the CEA estimate. Smartphones, still the primary revenue driver for the mobile industry, are expected to generate about $34 billion based on 108 million units sold. Smartphone purchases increased by 24 percent over last year.

Given the stronger-than-anticipated mobile industry sales growth, CEA’s Koenig offered this perspective:

Tablets are the fastest-growing product category in the history of the CE industry, and sales will continue to increase as more products hit the market, offering consumers more choices in size, price, operating systems and app ecosystems. With U.S. household penetration of smartphones surpassing the 50 percent threshold, we’re seeing slowing sales of dedicated devices, as consumers seek singular devices that can perform multiple functions. We expect this trend to continue into 2013.

Does this mobile industry data reflect your own consumer choices? Have you purchased a tablet or a new smartphone this year or are you planning to do so soon?

[image credit: Yutaka Tsutano]