Bigger, Better, Broader: Australia's digital technology boom continues
According to the latest Canon Consumer Digital Lifestyle Index* (Canon CDLI), released today in partnership with GfK Retail and Technology, demand for digital lifestyle products in the second half of 2010 remained strong, with Australians buying 8 million digital devices at a total value of $3.6 billion. While unit sales remained steady compared with 2H 2009 – an all-time record period for sales value – the total sales value of Australian digital lifestyle products sold in 2H 2010 experienced the most significant decline in the 8-year history of the Canon CDLI report, offering consumers unprecedented levels of affordability.
“The results illustrate the very strong appetite that Australians continue to have for technology and the resilience of the sector in challenging conditions,” said Jason McLean, Director – Canon Consumer Imaging, Canon Australia. “Despite factors such as successive interest rate rises, generally subdued consumer sentiment and increasingly high household penetration of some product categories, the industry has sustained high demand as our lifestyle evolves.”
Volume (unit) sales performance remained strong in 2H 2010, with 6 out of the 13 Canon CDLI categories posting a year-on-year increase and 5 of these 6 categories recording double-digit volume growth. PVRs and PCs led the way, with unit growth of 25% and 24%, respectively. They were followed closely by LCD TVs (+18%) and Digital Still Cameras (+14%), which was especially impressive considering the existing household penetration of these products.
“Technology is now mainstream and in reality there is no ‘digital’ lifestyle; just a ‘lifestyle” that’s irreversibly enriched and supported by digital devices,” continued McLean. “Given the 13% weighted decline in average selling prices, the high affordability of advanced tech products is encouraging consumers to improve their existing lifestyle experience. Upgrade cycles are shortening, particularly for PCs and digital cameras, and multiple product ownership is on the rise.”
The standout category performers in terms of value (dollars) in 2H 2010 were those that fulfilled Australians’ desire to upgrade and enhance their digital lifestyle experience through an offering of higher quality, expanded functionality, and the latest innovations. In PTVs, Full HD panels grew in units by 39% and the new 3D TVs already comprise 16% of the total PTV market by value, with the adoption of 3D technology sure to gain further momentum as the amount of 3D content increases. Digital SLR cameras performed strongly by registering double-digit value growth of 17% on the back of phenomenal volume growth of 51%.
“Australians are driven by a passion to create, record, share, and enjoy high-quality content and we’re seamlessly connecting various devices for an integrated experience,” added McLean. “Images are a central driver of the integrated lifestyle and we’re now taking 65% more photos than we were just four years ago. We’re enjoying them in many ways including viewing on our HD TVs, producing large prints and sharing in social media, but we’re now also seeing strong growth in storage devices to archive our lives.”
“How we’re using technology is changing and the industry will need to keep pace with changing consumer expectations if we are to continue to satisfy demand,” said McLean. “The research shows that people don’t want a cheap product, they want a quality one. With the continuing consumer focus on enhancing the lifestyle experience through quality and advanced functionality, how we help consumers achieve their lifestyle objectives is the critical opportunity.”
Digital lifestyle trends include:
Bigger – Digital Lifestyle demand
- Replacement cycles are shortening (<2yrs for 44% of PC buyers and 26% of digital camera buyers)
- Multiple product ownership is increasing to suit different occasions (30% of PCs are additional for the household)
- Expansion of lifestyle archiving to cope with the explosion in images taken (+65% in past 4 yrs) and increasing number of devices owned
- Increased complementary device usage and connectivity. More advanced devices are being connected to PTVs and interconnected.
- Home networks were accessed by more computers than ever, and technology buyers are increasing their home networking of Desktops (43%, up 1%), Notebooks (47%, up 4%), Televisions (9%, up 1%), and Mobile Phones (22%, up 5%).
Better – Upgrading the Digital Lifestyle
- We’re enhancing the existing experience through better quality, functionality, innovations.
- We’re buying out of choice, not necessity. For example, 21% of PTV buyers needed to replace a broken set, but nearly twice as many (38%) were upgrading an existing, operating, product.
- High-quality trumps low-price as a purchase driver. 84% of camera buyers rate “Quality” as important, double those for “Price”
Broader – The Australian (Digital) Lifestyle
- Digital technology is mainstream and intrinsic to our lifestyle, with PCs and digital cameras among categories with 80%+ penetration and growing
- PC usage has evolved from being more around work/study to becoming more about communication (e.g. Skype, up 6%), leisure (e.g. watching TV, up 5%), and general web browsing (up 4%). In fact, using a PC for leisure (non-work related) activities occupies more time per week (12 hours) than watching DVDs, pay TV, or even free-to-air TV.
- Purchases are often made based on significant life events (e.g. 63% of camcorders; 29% of cameras)
The complete 2H2010 Canon CDLI report can be downloaded from the Canon Australia website:
http://www.canon.com.au/About-Canon/News-Events/Canon-Digital-Lifestyle-Index
* The Canon Consumer Digital Lifestyle Index (CDLI) is an independent research report commissioned six-monthly by Canon and compiled by Retail Market Insights, a division of GfK Retail and Technology Australia. It reports on acquisition and usage of various digital products in Australia using a combination of GfK’s retail sales audit and ConsumerScope services. The Index comprises information on digital still cameras, digital camcorders, inkjet printers, photo printers, multi-function devices, personal computers, plasma TVs, LCD TVs, personal video recorders, DVD players and recorders, digital media players and games consoles.