Consumer electronics are big sellers

Consumer electronics products remain hot, as cold hard cash statistics prove.

U.S. factory-to-dealer sales of consumer electronics are expected to reach $140 billion this year, up 8 percent over 2005, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group based in Arlington, Va.

That's only a tad slower than the 11 percent year-over-year growth from 2004 to 2005.

"The midyear numbers show continued robust growth in the CE industry, category to category," Gary Shapiro, CEA's president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. "Consumers are embracing new technologies in this digital age, as they make new or upgrade purchases for the home, the car, the office or anywhere."

Leading the way are display technologies — or, as humans call them, TVs. Their sales reached $19 billion last year and should top $22 billion in 2006.

"Replacement and upgrade purchases continue to drive the display market while prices continue to fall," said CEA's director of industry analysis, Sean Wargo. "As consumers prepare for the transition to digital television, we will see more of the shipment volumes move to digital displays as analog sets' days are increasingly numbered."

DVDs, which are expected to see a resurgence because DVD recorders and high-definition DVDs will become widely available. About 7 million DVD recorders are expected to be sold this year. Sales of high-res DVD players — both Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats — are expected to top more than 1 million in 2007.

MP3 players, forecast for 33 million unit sales this year, equating to $5 billion. Accessories such as headphones, docks, speakers and carrying cases are expected to grow 30 percent this year.

Video games, expected to reach $12.5 billion in sales this year, with next year's figures topping that by 16 percent, to $15 billion.

Navigation products, with the mobile video and navigation category accounting for $2.3 billion this year.