Consumer spending in the electronics and IT sectors declined in the second quarter of 2010, according to an index compiled by analyst firm GfK TEMAX Australia.
The index, developed by GfK's retail and technology division, used data contributed by participating retailers.
It found that "value growth" in IT declined by one percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. The current value of the IT sector according to GfK was AU$833,000 in Q2.
Value growth refers to the overall value of a particular product category or sector.
It was the first time in five years the IT sector failed to achieve value growth, GfK said.
The decline in value was driven by "strong price erosion in the dominant notebook PC market", which experienced a value decline of three percent.
Certain categories, however, performed strongly in both unit shipments and value with demand for storage devices increasing. This category grew by 23 percent in value and 62 percent in unit shipments.
Overall, spending in the retail and technology track dropped by 5.2 percent - the second decline recorded since the launch of the GfK TEMAX Australia report in Q3 2008.
However, Gfk said the comparable quarter last year was characterised by "value growth" driven by the Government's stimulus packages.
Meanwhile, the value of traditional mobile phones fell 52 percent in Q2, but sales of smartphones compensated for the loss, with an increase of 92 percent.
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