IDC: Australia beats US and UK in consumer electronics recovery

Consumer electronics (CE) spending might be down in Australia but it has garnered a better result than other countries.

In a consultation study, the analyst firm, IDC, predicts CE spending in Australia will decline by 4 per cent this year. But the country is recovering faster than other developed nations like the US and UK, which are down by 17 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.

IDC analyst, Michael DeHart, said the result is partially linked to Australia’s resilience during the global economic crisis in 2009.

“The market wasn’t hit quite as badly,” he said.

Home networking will be the next big thing in the CE space based on a more ‘tech savy’ consumer group, DeHart predicts.

“These ‘Tech Evangelists’ make up 15 per cent of the local CE market but lead market behaviour and are key influencers over other groups,” he said. "In general, networking within households connected to the Internet has reached 44 per cent. With tech evangelists, it is at 61 per cent.”

DeHart describes tech evangelists as middle income and well-educated consumers that conduct more research to understand a product before committing to a purchase.

Many companies are re-investing in research and development for new products, he said.

“With that in mind, I’m hoping of at least a positive 2-3 per cent growth by 2011-2012,” DeHart said.

China is expected to experience a strong boost in CE spending and IDC predicting a 42 per cent growth.

The consultation study involved surveying more than 1000 households in Australia and 30,000 households globally.

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