Consumer electronics products are more prevalent than ever with the average US household owning 26 non-discreet CE products (up from 25 in 2005) and spending $1,200 on CE products in the past 12 months, according to Consumer Electronics Association. The MP3 player tops the list with a 10 point gain in household penetration from 15% in January of 2005 to 25% in January of 2006. This is the only category to have tripled growth in a year. 8 mln units shipped in 2004 and shipments surpassed 25 mln in 2005. CEA anticipates an additional 30 mln will ship in 2005, which puts MP3 right up there with televisions.
Other top growth categories included the digital camera – up eight household penetration points from 49% in 2004 to 57% in 2005; car video entertainment systems, up six points from nine to 15%; the in-dash CD player, up five points from 57 to 62% and notebook PCs, up four points from 30 to 34%. CEA also revealed the five most owned products, led by televisions at 95% household penetration, followed by VCRs (87%), cordless phones (85%), DVD players (81%) and wireless phones (78%). 75% of US households now own either a desktop or notebook PC. Portability is playing a larger role in computing as evidenced by the fact that notebook ownership improved four points to 35% of households. Satellite radio ownership reached 10% of households as aggregate Sirius and XM subscribers breached the 10 mln mark.