Gadget spending hit $5.72 billion last year

The company commissioned a report by Canon Consumer Digital Lifestyle Index (CDLI) compiled by GfK using information on sales figures.

It found, spending on tech gadgets in the second half of 2008 reached $3.3 billion - the highest half-year result recorded since CDLI started reporting in 2003.

Total sales for the Canon CDLI product categories grew several times faster than for the retailing industry as a whole.

Total sales for the entire retail sector grew by 3.3 percent over the year (from Q4 2007 to Q4 2008), whereas total Canon CDLI sales revenues grew by 10.1 percent over the same period.

Categories that defied the economic downturn were digital still cameras, games consoles, digital media players and flat screen TVs.

Darren Ryan general manager Marketing, Consumer Imaging Products Group, Canon Australia said the results indicate that despite reduced consumer sentiment and general economic uncertainty, the Australian technology market achieved very healthy growth in the second half of 2008, outperforming the retail sector as a whole.

"The Canon CDLI is a barometer of the performance of the technology sector, but makes no judgement on the broader economic conditions," he said.

"We understand from this and previous reports that technology is an important element in the Australian lifestyle and we expect it to continue to outperform other sectors on that basis.

"From Canon's perspective as a business and in our dealings with our resellers and other business partners the outlook for 2009 is positive relative to other sectors in the market.

"Resources on general business sentiment such as the ANZ monthly business survey can provide a broader perspective," Ryan added.

Sales during the second half of 2008 of digital lifestyle products covered in the Canon CDLI rose by 20 percent to 8.47 million units, while the industry revenue generated by the Canon CDLI categories increased by 14 percent to $3.296 billion.

Total sales for the Canon CDLI product categories grew several times faster than for the retailing industry as a whole. Total sales for the entire retail sector grew by 3.3 percent over the year (from Q4 2007 to Q4 2008), whereas total Canon CDLI sales revenues grew by 10.1 percent over the same period.

Categories that defied the economic downturn were digital still cameras, games consoles, digital media players and flat screen TVs.

Digital still cameras continued to be a star performer in the second half of 2008, with unit sales up 317,000 or 23 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

In volume terms, digital still cameras were the second largest category in this report, just behind digital media players, reflecting the growing importance and integration of digital imaging in Australian consumers' lives.

"Despite the high penetration of digital still cameras, Australians bought more than 2.6 million units last year, taking advantage of outstanding consumer value available in the market to upgrade to the latest technology," said Ryan.

"We're seeing a creative revolution taking place in the market with consumers upgrading to more advanced compact camera models and explosive growth in digital SLR camera sales of 83 percent in the fourth quarter and 52 percent for the full year.

"Australians have also demonstrated their attachment to imagery through the upward trend in the number of pictures taken each month."

According to Ryan, 2009 holds plenty of promise for the Australian technology sector despite the generally negative economic sentiment.

"Our understanding of Australian consumers is that they have very strong creative desires, which is spurring their uptake and use of digital technology," he said.

"Through the current and previous Canon CDLI reports, we have seen digital technology become increasingly important in our lifestyles, with digital devices continuing to grow faster than the retail sector as a whole.

"The Australian technology market is also highly competitive with unprecedented affordability enabling access to advanced technology that was previously out of reach.

"In 2008, there was extreme value across the CDLI categories and, while we expect to see price increases being implemented in 2009, we are confident that consumers' strong desire to use technology to achieve their creative lifestyle goals and historically high affordability will see the sector remain attractive for consumers," Ryan added.

He said tracking as at the end of February 2009 for each of the categories that Canon participates in indicates that the market is up year-on-year in volume terms for all categories.

"An example is DSLR up 91 percent (Feb year to date for market). Early March indicators show that growth has accelerated for the month, and examples like this across key CDLI categories support our positive outlook for 2009," he said.