U.S. sales of analog- and digital-television sets combined jumped 17% in 2003 to $13.6 billion, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
This marked the biggest invoiced total for TVs in history, the CEA said.
The trade group added that it expects 2004 sales of all consumer-electronics products to hit a record $108 billion, up from about $100 billion last year.
Manufacturer-to-dealer sales of PCs and digital TVs are two key drivers of consumer-electronics sales in 2004. The CEA had originally forecasted total electronics sales in 2004 of $96.3 billion.
PCs remain the largest single product category, with sales exceeding $15 billion, the association said.
“Consumer demand for digital products continues to drive consumer-electronics sales beyond our earlier projections,” CEA chief Gary Shapiro said in a prepared statement. “Consumer enthusiasm going into the fourth quarter of 2003 further catapulted overall sales.”
The CEA said almost every product category performed better than anticipated in 2003 by $100 million-$200 million.
