Consumers less likely to buy single-function devices – Accenture report

8 Jan 2013

The multifunctional iPhone 5

Consumers are shunning single-function electronic products in favour of multifunction devices, Accenture’s 2013 Global Consumer Electronics Products and Services Usage Report suggests.

The report, which is comprised of results of a survey conducted in September 2012, explored consumer usage and spending habits for 16 types of consumer electronic devices, 11 of which perform a single function and five that carry out multiple functions.

The survey findings reveal that consumers’ plans to purchase single-function devices have fallen or remained flat compared with the prior year.

For example, the percentage of survey respondents planning to buy Blu-ray DVD players fell slightly, from 11pc to 10pc, while intentions to buy digital photo cameras, digital video cameras, and game consoles remained flat.

By comparison, the percentage of survey respondents planning to buy multifunction devices in the next year increased from 16pc a year ago to 36pc for desktop and laptop PCs; from 27pc to 41pc for smartphones; from 20pc to 33pc for HDTVs; and from 16pc to 23pc for tablet computers.

Mattias Lewren, managing director for Accenture’s Electronics and High-Tech industry group, said the consumer electronics market is now predominantly a four-horse race among multi-function devices – PCs, smartphones, tablets and HDTVs.

“This development amounts to a call to action for electronics manufacturers. They need to focus squarely on innovative devices with multiple applications, from browsing to media consumption to communications in various settings,” said Lewren.

“Consumers want ‘do-it-all’ capabilities in various sizes and user experiences that fit their different lifestyle needs.” 

Tina Costanza was a journalist and sub-editor at Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com