DTV Sales to Reach $5.5B in 2003 CEA Says

CEA announced this week that sales of consumer electronics products will total a record $99.5 billion in 2003, marking a 3.5 percent increase over 2002. Of the almost $100 billion in estimated sales, $5.5 billion will be from DTV products.

The figures were issued as part of CEA Market Research's annual U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales & Forecasts report. Sales in 2002 are estimated to total $96.2 billion, a 3.7 percent increase over 2002. The 2002 figure is slightly higher than CEA's initial projections forecast.

Digital products continue to be the main spur of industry growth. Here's a look at some of the statistics:

* DTV sales exceeded the 2002 CEA forecast, weighing in with over 2.6 million units. 2003 sales are expected to reach 3.8 million units worth $5.5 billion.

* Stand-alone DVD players are the fastest growing technology and are in 35 percent of U.S. homes. Unit sales totaled 17.6 million in 2002, up 39 percent on the back of combination DVD/VCR players. Sales are predicted to climb 14 percent in 2003, reaching 20.1 million units on dollar sales of $2.6 billion.

* Sales of plasma sets will rise by 40 percent in 2003 with dollar sales of $616 million, up from $453 million in 2002. Sales of LCD TVs will increase from 965 thousand units in 2002 to 1.1 million units, equaling $111 million, in 2003.