After studying a multitude of different data findings from our recently released global consumer electronics usage survey of 19 consumer electronic devices, Accenture asked a simple question: If we had to identify three of the most promising market opportunities for selling consumer electronics products and services based on these findings, what would they be?
Three rose to the top of the list: TV applications for PCs, tablets and smart¬phones; the fertile consumer markets in emerging countries; and the consumer electronics buying behavior of the younger generation.
Market Opportunity No. 1: Mobile TV apps
Accenture’s survey of more than 10,000 global consumers found that the battle for consumers’ eyeballs and time is intensifying among TV viewers. Viewership continues to rise, however the impact on the TV screen in the home is shifting.
For example, in China, France, India, Japan and the United States the percentage of consumers watching broadcast or cable TV shows, movies or videos on a TV screen in a typical week plummeted from 71 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2011 as consumers moved in larger numbers to PCs, tablets and smartphones. These trends are reflected in consumers’ TV purchase plans. During the next 12 months, the percentage of survey respondents planning to buy a TV fell to 32 percent in 2012, down from 35 percent in 2010.
According to our research, a majority (56 percent) of respondents are changing the choices they make and how they behave. The most frequently cited change relates to entertainment, with 32 percent indicating they have stopped or almost stopped renting or buying DVDs.
Given this situation, consumer electronics companies should explore more opportunities with other companies participating in: information application markets (news, sports, weather); networking applications (social/professional networks); and entertainment applications such as music, single or group games and videos. Our survey found that these applications will continue to be widely used for the next few years.
The consumer electronics market is no longer about just manufacturing a product and selling it. It’s more about competing in a more extensive and integrated ecosystem. Consumer electronics companies are being heavily influenced by a new business model called “super¬stacks." Accenture defines a superstack as a more extensive and cohesive integration of operating systems, semi-conductor chips, devices, applications and end-user services than the industry has traditionally achieved. The primary driver of superstacks will be the mobile market, particularly the smartphone market where superstack-based products are already commercially available.
Market Opportunity No. 2: Emerging markets
It’s no secret that emerging countries offer many growth opportunities for businesses in a wide range of industries. This is especially true in the consumer electronics industry. Emerging markets show a continued and exceptional thirst for the latest technologies such as tablet PCs and smartphones. They lead in ownership and purchase intent growth for many newer types of consumer electronics devices compared with more mature countries such as France, Germany, Japan and the United States. Youth movement
With the exception of India, urban consumers in emerging markets have spent a higher percentage of their annual income on consumer electronics devices in the past year than those in mature markets. China’s urban consumers, already allocating the largest share of their income toward consumer technology, are expected to slightly increase their share over the next 12 months. Consumer electronics companies should capitalize on these myriad opportunities.
Which consumer devices are fueling increased spending in emerging markets? Preferences vary across countries. Across all urban emerging markets, tablets for personal and professional use are especially important. China posted the greatest ownership percentage (27 percent). Over the next 12 months the percentage of consumers owning tablets ranked highest in Brazil, China and India. Consumers in these countries cited tablet portability (relative to a laptop) and its status as the latest innovation in consumer electronics as reasons for buying. Consumers in emerging countries, furthermore, are using tablet computers far more often at work—in several cases three times as much as mature countries. In Brazil, South Africa and India, in particular, tablets are used extensively for personal and professional reasons.
Market Opportunity No. 3: The Younger Generation
Consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 crave new consumer electronics technology and associated services and applications, and should be a focal point for consumer electronics companies. Our survey showed this younger group uses and buys more consumer electronics products and services than consumers above the age of 35. Fifty-five percent have downloaded apps at least once a week in the past 12 months, compared with 44 percent of older consumers. Younger consumers also lead adoption of new tech¬nologies, owning more products in emerging categories like smartphones and tablets.
They are also more ambitious in their purchase intentions: During the next 12 months, a higher percentage of younger than older consumers intend to buy products in each of the 19 consumer electronics categories. Consumer devices also help to define the lifestyle of the younger generation. When asked, “Which of the following do you do in a typical week on your consumer electronics devices?” those 35 or younger lead in every activity except more traditional ones such as emailing from a PC or mobile device.
