Q5 Interview - Jason Oxman, CEA

Jason Oxman, senior VP industry affairs, Consumer Electronics Association, talks to Electronics Weekly about the biggest opportunities in the consumer market in 2009, the digital TV switch-over, and suppliers meeting the challenge of potentially falling consumer spending...

Which technologies are expected to provide the biggest opportunities in the consumer market in 2009?  
 
Home theatre technologies will be a major product category on consumers' minds throughout 2009. Given the tough economy, consumers are looking for inexpensive means for entertainment. And as HDTV prices come down, home theatre will continue to be a key category for our industry. New display technologies such OLED, 3D HDTV and Internet TV, as well as the end of the Blu-ray/HD-DVD format war, will allow this market to thrive.

Additionally audio devices, including headphones/earbuds, portable MP3 players and home theatre-in-a-box systems, are at the top of consumers' planned CE purchases over the next 12 months. In fact, CEA estimates that consumers will spend an average of $242 USD on audio devices in the coming year.

What impact will the move towards digital switch-over have on the market?
 
Digital television has become widely popular on a global scale, providing consumers around the world with a better viewing experience. The upcoming US digital television transition and the on-going digital switchover in the UK, illustrate the global importance and popularity of digital television and DTV technologies. In fact, CEA projects that 34 million HDTVs will be sold in the US alone in 2009. 
 
There is a perception that most consumer electronics is designed and manufactured outside of Europe. How true is this?  
 
The CE industry is global and different stages of the design and manufacturing of CE devices take place around the world.  There are very few countries on the planet that are not involved in the global supply chain for the CE industry.  For example, many companies opt to have the bulk of their product R&D, usability testing and other design work done in their home countries, but hold their manufacturing facilities in areas where labour costs are lower.

If you had to name one "hot product" for 2009 what would it be?
 
It's always hard to pick a favourite product coming out of the International CES.  More than 2,700 global companies, including 300 new exhibitors, unveiled an estimated 20,000 new technology products at last week's International CES, electrifying the technology industry and helping lead the way to economic recovery. New trends unveiled at the 2009 CES that will shape the future of our industry include 3D HDTV, advances in OLED, green technologies, Internet TV and digital entertainment.
 
Ground-breaking technologies that emerged from the 2009 CES included the Palm Pre, Sony's flexible OLED display, Yahoo!'s TV Widget, Microsoft's Windows 7 Beta, LG's Watch Phone and a 1/3 inch thin energy efficient Plasma HDTV from Panasonic.
 
How can suppliers meet the challenge of potentially falling consumer spending?
 
During this economic downturn, it is important for suppliers and retailers to provide consumers with a convenient environment to purchase their products. CEA finds that consumers' CE shopping visits are now equally split between large electronics retailers and mass merchants, where consumers can enjoy the convenience of shopping for groceries, daily necessities and CE products under one roof. This development provides consumers with an added convenience, which in turn, can lead to purchases. Additionally, consumers are also finding increased convenience in shopping online, due to the ease of comparison shopping, product variety and the convenience of shopping at home.

See also: Q5 - Interviews with electronics industry leaders
Read all the Electronics Weekly Q5 interviews. From ARM's chairman, Sir Robin Saxby, to touchscreen technology firm Zytronic's MD, Mark Cambridge, the business leaders share their particular insights on the UK electronics industry.