Worldwide spending this year on emerging and traditional consumer technology will reach $1.32 trillion, which is 3.5% more than in 2018, according to consumer technology spending forecast from IDC.The inaugural study, “Worldwide Semiannual Connected Consumer Spending Guide,” found that spending will reach $1.43 trillion in 2022. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2022 will be 3%.
Technology that IDC categorizes as traditional includes personal computing devices, mobile phones, and mobile telecom services. This category will account for more than 96% of consumer technology spending this year. Mobile telecom services will be more than half of the total, with mobile phones coming in second. Traditional technology spending will have a CAGR of 2.4% over the forecast period.
Emerging technologies include AR/VR headsets, drones, robotic systems, smart home devices and wearables. This younger category will have a five year CAGR of 20.6% and account for more than 5% of the total by the end of the study period. Smart home equipment and smart wearables will represent more than 80% of the emerging technology spending this year. Smart home devices will be the fastest growing technology during the study period with a CAGR of 38%.
In a press release, Tom Mainelli, IDC’s group vice president for Devices and Consumer Research, said ( the team that prepared the new report will “continue to develop an ever-widening array of use cases, adding additional data about software and services, and eventually demographic-focused insights” in future reports.
“The new Connected Consumer Spending Guide leverages IDC’s long history of capturing consumer device shipments, combined with valuable insights from regular consumer surveys and channel discussions, to tell a comprehensive story about consumer spending,” he noted.