Overall Consumer Electronic Spending Slow; Laptops, LCD TVs Show Momentum

The frequently fickle but always fascinating consumer electronics market requires constant vigilance if you want to keep up with all the latest action.

Our most recent look at it was during the week of March 8-15, 2007, when we surveyed 3,266 Alliance members on their consumer electronics spending habits – including a close-up snapshot of the next 90 days.

Overall, spending on consumer electronics is trending down for the second consecutive survey with 28% percent of respondents saying they’ll spend more on consumer electronics over the next 90 days, while 32% say less.

Despite the downtick, spending on individual items like laptops (14%; up 4-points since January) and LCD TVs (14%; up 3-points) appear to have momentum going forward.

So where is everyone getting the goods – i.e. which consumer electronics retailers are being frequented most by respondents?

Our survey findings show Best Buy (BBY) (54%) is still on top in terms of home entertainment stores (54%). The new number two is discount retailer Costco (COST) (24%), while Circuit City (CC) – formerly in the second slot – has slipped back into third position (23%).

What Else Is Hot Now In This Space?

When it comes to consumer electronics, what’s hot one day can be cold the next.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the video game console space, where Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 (7%) still rank highest in terms of current ownership but finds the Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) Wii (5%) hot on its heels – and the Sony (SNE) PlayStation 3 (3%) bringing up the rear.

Interestingly, while the Xbox 360 offers High-Def DVD compatibility and the PS3 doubles as a Blu-Ray Hi-Def DVD – the Wii doesn’t even currently play DVDs at all. Nonetheless, looking ahead, more respondents say they plan to purchase a Wii (5%) over the next 12 months than the Xbox 360 (2%) and PlayStation 3 (2%) combined.

A Close-up on Digital Cameras...

We also zeroed in on the digital cameras space, where Canon (CAJ) (37%) remains the hands-down leader with the closest runner-ups lagging far behind.

Looking ahead at planned purchasers over the next 90 days, Canon (34%) remains on top by a wide margin. Nikon (NINOY.PK) (12%) appears set to grab the number two spot, well out in front of all its remaining competitors.

*Only shows manufacturers with greater than 10% market share.

...And Peripheral Devices

While Canon is the clearly the 800 lb. gorilla of digital cameras, it’s also making inroads into the computer peripheral segment (e.g., printers, scanners, all-in-one devices).
As part of our survey we asked respondents to identify which computer peripheral brands they currently own, and which they plan on buying over the next 90 days. Here’s what we found:

Here we can see just how firmly Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is in control of the current “All-in-One” Device, Printer and Scanner markets. But surprisingly, we find second place Canon has a whole lot of momentum going forward.

The bottom line – these survey results say keep a close eye on Canon. It’s hot.

Because the consumer electronics market is so rife with changing appetites, it’s important to keep taking the pulse of our early adopter ChangeWave Alliance members to pick up any changes in the their buying rhythms.

In the weeks and months ahead we’ll be going back to the Alliance with more questions about their consumer electronics consumption habits, and if history is any guide you can bet we’ll be in for surprises.

Paul Carton co-wrote this article.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article summarizes the results of a recent ChangeWave Alliance survey. The Alliance is a research network of 10,000 business, technology and medical professionals who spend their everyday lives working on the front line of technological change. For more info on the ChangeWave Alliance, or if you are interested in joining, please click here.