By Keri Algar
SYDNEY, NSW: Despite sales growth “normalising” after last year’s boon, Australians still purchased an average of two digital lifestyle products in the first half of 2010, according to a consumer technology retail sales report released today.
The Canon Consumer Digital Lifestyle Index (CDLI) has revealed a 4.6 per cent drop in sales from prior year results, influenced by higher interest rates and the cycling of the stimulus packages. However, Canon said Australian’s appetite for digital products is strong and that treating 2009 as an anomaly the average annual growth rate is 3.14 per cent.
“The latest Canon CDLI confirms that Australian consumers still love buying new technology despite the uncertainly in the global economy, and the trend towards high-image-quality products we found in previous reports has continued in the first half of 2010,” said Darren Ryan, general manager consumer product marketing, Canon Australia.
The results also revealed a demand for additional devices such as a second camera or TV for the household including 18 per cent of compact cameras being described as additional, 27 per cent of digital SLR cameras, 12 per cent of panel TVs and 31 per cent of personal computers.
“One of the new and important trends to emerge from the latest Canon CDLI is a shift towards complementary device usage where consumers are purchasing more, and more often to maximise the variety of options available for watching, creating and sharing content,” said Ryan.
“The latest generation of products, which have interconnection technologies such as HDMI, makes it easy for consumers to own multiple but complementary devices, rather than sticking to a single all-in-one device. Together with the shift from analogue to digital technology, which has seen the Internet emerge as the digital lifestyle “hub”, consumers can capitalise on the best aspects of their varied devices while enjoying an integrated lifestyle experience.”