CES 2021
– setting the tone for
the consumer industry
The first ever all-digital CES took place last month
and below we consider some of the key trends,
and take a look at some of the technology that
was on show. By Neil Tyler
O ver many decades CES has
not only marked the start of
a new year, but has helped
to set the tone for the consumer
industry. Despite the global pandemic
the organisers of CES were able to
hold the first-ever, all-digital show using
technology to connect people across
different digital platforms.
Introducing CES 2021, Gary
Shaprio, President and CEO,
Consumer Technology Association,
spoke about technology providing a
stabilising force in a world beset by
the uncertainties caused by Covid-19
and that it had helped to keep people
connected, whether to their friends
and family, businesses or schools.
“With no boundaries to
innovation,” Shapiro said, “we’ve
been able to use technology to bring
the consumer ecosystem together
to help create what will be a safer,
smarter, healthier, more resilient and
empowered world.”
According to figures from
Semiconductor Intelligence, despite
having to go digital, CES 2021
reported 1,960 on-line exhibitors and
a virtual attendance of almost 70,000
– while both were significantly down
on 2020 it was a real achievement
for the organisers.
Covid-19 has changed almost
everything over the past twelve
Interestingly, due to the large
numbers of people working and
learning from home laptop PCs saw
strong growth in 2020.
According to figures from analysts
Canalys, shipments within the
global PC market were up by 25% in
2020, marking the sector’s biggest
annual growth since 2010 and was
“singlehandedly driven by notebooks
and mobile workstations”.
Commenting, analyst Rushabh
Doshi said, “It is going to be
extremely difficult to write off the PC
as some of us did a few years ago.
PCs are here to stay.”
That strong performance in sales
of laptop PCs also led to increased
demand for ancillary products,
according to Corrie Barry, the CEO of
Best Buy. “With everyone at home we
saw demand for web cams, speakers
and microphones grow significantly,
as people wanted to have the best
experience they could while at home.”
Being at home also changed
consumer attitudes towards
e-commerce, with consumers turning
to the web to make purchases of
electronic goods in a move many at
CES saw as a significant shift to a
‘digital first’ approach. The disruption
seen to the supply chain saw
consumer behaviours changing and,
as a consequence, businesses found
months and the way we think about
transportation, healthcare, education
and the way we work has been
fundamentally altered.
This year’s show highlighted a
number of emerging technology
trends many of which have been
accelerated by the pandemic, such
as: e-commerce, telemedicine,
streaming video, remote learning, AI
& machine learning, natural language
processing, cloud computing and
remote health monitoring devices.
At the conference, running
alongside the show, speakers said
that technology companies not only
had a role in helping to build back
better after the pandemic, but also in
lessoning the digital divide which had
been highlighted with people having
to work from home.
Sales surge
Figures from the Consumer Technology
Association (CTA) suggest that US
retail sales revenue for the technology
industry in 2021 will increase by 4.3%
from 2020, reaching a total of $460bn
- this includes electronics hardware,
software, and services.
In terms of hardware, smartphones
are expected to remain the largest
category, up 5% to $73 billion in
2021, with 5G smartphone revenues
expected to triple over the year.
“We’ve been able
to use technology
to bring the
consumer
ecosystem
together to
help create
what will be a
safer, smarter,
healthier, more
resilient and
empowered
world.”
Gary Shapiro
10 9 February 2021 www.newelectronics.co.uk
/www.newelectronics.co.uk