Mid-Year Prediction: Convergence To Drive CE

Young leaders predict sales and technology trends

June 10, 2011 By Jeff O’Heir and Dealerscope Staff

multipage

The convergence of consumer electronics and AV formats will intensify during the second half of the year, posing even greater challenges in how manufacturers develop products and how retailers sell them. It could also mean higher margins for those who can figure out how to sell a full solution around the core technologies and products.

That was one of the main topics that emerged from interviews with Dealerscope's new group of 40-Under-40 young leaders when we asked them what trends they think will dominate the CE industry during the second half of the year.

Audio sales and the higher-end markets, some said, should also remain strong. But it's the continued convergence of a variety of core products and services into singular platforms that seems to have grabbed the collective attention of our 40 Under 40. For more stories on our 40 Under 40, please stay tuned to Dealerscope.com during the next few weeks.

"This is the end of an epoch in which companies figure out their technologies separately; now they're merging them. We're starting to see this, especially in the main consumer technologies, such as televisions, computers and phones," said Chris Bundy, director of marketing for Atlona Technologies. "I think we'll see a lot more products that merge come out through the end of 2011 and in 2012. We'll see more technologies being brought into tablet devices that will involve HDMI jacks, and consumer formats that fit the AV world. Your TV is just the gateway drug. The more accessible these technologies get, the more you'll see an uptick in sales."

The proliferation of high-speed broadband into the home, along with more robust home networks, will continue to change how and where people consume video and audio, the inductees said.

"In home video, consumers' choices of programming delivered to their living rooms will continue to grow exponentially, blurring the lines between broadcast TV, the traditional home theater experience and Internet video," said Neal Manowitz, Sony's director of product marketing, home audio video. "This will create new opportunities for the entire industry to provide new products and services to quench the consumer's thirst."

As the entire home video experience improves - from displays to access to distribution - the consumer demand for a similar audio experience in the home and car will continue to increase. Dealers across the country have reported an increase in across-the-board audio sales since the beginning of the years.