This article originally appeared in TWICE.
The next time your kid whines he’s the only one in school without a smartphone, you may no longer have a leg to stand on.
A new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has updated the household penetration rates for consumer electronics, and not only did smartphones witness one of the largest jumps in ownership, but basic cellphones (or “dumbphones”) dropped out of the top 10 completely.
Not surprisingly, TVs took first prize in household ownership, while DVD/Blu-ray players placed and smartphones showed.
The complete list:
1. TV (97%)
2. DVD/Blu-ray player or recorder (78%)
3. smartphone (72%)
4. laptop/notebook/netbook (67%)
5. digital camera (64%)
6. multifunction printer (63%)
7. headphones (59%)
8. desktop computer (55%)
9. tablet (54%)
10. video game console (45%)
Other details from the report:
Basic cellphones fell to less than 50% household penetration, marking the largest decrease of any CE product and the first time the category didn’t crack the top 10.
The fastest-growing CE products in household penetration were wearable fitness trackers (11%, up 6%); digital media-streaming devices (29%, up 5%); and in-vehicle communication devices (34%, up 4%).
Tablets saw the largest increase in ownership, rising 9% points vs. last year. It’s the category’s first time in CEA’s top 10.
CEA believes the rapid adoption of mobile devices will lead to digital content catching up traditional content (books, CDs and DVDs, etc.) by 2018.
Noted Steve Koenig, market research senior director at CEA: “A strong consumer appetite for mobile connected devices is causing some very interesting changes in the CE ownership landscape. These mobile devices have greatly influenced the type of content Americans consume, and given birth to new emerging tech categories such as wearable activity trackers and smart home devices that consumers are beginning to embrace more broadly.”
