Looking ahead to CES 2024, the Consumer Technology Association predicts that retail revenues for the U.S. consumer technology sector will experience a growth of 2.8%, resulting in an expected revenue of $512 billion in 2024—an increase of $14 billion from the previous year’s figures. This upward trend seems to signal growing public interest in tech products and services, as evidenced by CTA’s One-Year Industry Forecast report.
The Senior Director of Business Intelligence at CTA, Richard Kowalski, highlighted an interesting trend wherein consumers are purchasing tech products such as smartphones, TVs and gaming hardware at lower costs despite inflation affecting other sectors in the US economy. He attributes this occurrence to technology’s deflationary nature which has been brought about by innovative practices that have encouraged competitive pricing and more cost-effective industry standards. In his forecast for 2024, he expects artificial intelligence advancements to bring immense growth opportunities for both consumer-based and enterprise-level technological companies through heightened efficacy levels coupled with better fulfillment of their clients’ needs.
Trends that will be significant in 2024:
The Megabundle Era:
To win over consumers, content providers will step up their advertising of “service bundles.” These all-inclusive packages let customers save money on the services they enjoy most while streamlining payment procedures.
The projected growth in consumer expenditure for audio streaming services is set to reach $14 billion, representing a 6% increase compared to the year 2023. Similarly, video streaming is expected to witness a rise of up to 4%, reaching an impressive figure of $48 billion by the end of 2024.
Looking at the Gaming Industry:
The gaming industry is set to experience a hardware boom thanks to updates in tablets, augmented and virtual reality headsets, and the anticipated release of a new console from a major brand sometime between 2024/2025. This influx of fresh tech will result in increased revenue for the sector. Moreover, subscription services are estimated to grow by an impressive 12%, generating $3.5 billion by 2024 – further boosting profits for gamers across the board! Generative artificial intelligence has also been touted as one key advancement that could potentially enhance gameplay while expediting game development overall!
The relationship between devices and services remains essential, as per CTA’s prediction that consumers will allocate around 33% of their tech budget in 2024 to software and subscription services.
Embrace the buzz about AI: More than 230 million PCs and smartphones destined for the United States this year will employ generative AI through mobile apps, browsers, and built-in software. Expect to see increased use of artificial intelligence in areas such as mobility safety systems, fitness trackers on smartwatches, and enhancements to TV picture quality.
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Expressing excitement over the innovative advancements presented at CES 2024, Gary Shapiro – President and CEO of CTA – highlighted several key areas that require attention for sustaining innovation. He emphasized the need to foster pro-innovation regulatory policies, encourage investment into R&D activities & technologies, undertake immigration reforms promoting global talent inclusion and forge robust trade partnerships which can collectively benefit everyone involved.
