35 percent of Canadians more likely to buy electronics due to COVID: survey

Thirty-five percent of Canadians say they’re more likely to buy tech products due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

The findings come from the CTA’s new Consumer Technology Ownership & Market Potential Study, which polled more than 2,000 Canadian adults between April 9th and 18th.

Further, the study found that consumer intent to buy tech products in the next 12 months has increased by five percent over this time last year. This growth is attributed to smartphones, TVs and video game consoles. Gaming systems, in particular, make a lot of sense here, given that the current-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles — the first brand-new hardware from Sony and Microsoft since 2013 — didn’t release until November 2020.

To that point, the survey found that 49 percent of Canadian homes now own a video game console, up 10.7 percent from 2020. What’s more, 18 percent of households say they plan to buy one in the next 12 months, which is a 25 percent jump from last year.

In the case of the new consoles, demand is far outpacing supply, especially given the global chip shortages that are hampering production.

Moving onto other home entertainment systems, the most frequently owned products in this category were TVs (90 percent), DVD/Blu-ray players (54 percent) and digital streaming devices (43 percent). Interestingly, exactly 50 percent of Canadian homes now have a 4K Ultra HD TV, up from 36 percent in 2020.

In terms of smart home products, 36 percent of Canadian homes now own a smart speaker, while 17 percent say they plan to buy one in the next year. Smart light bulbs and smart appliances boasted 19 and 19 percent respective ownership.  Wearable-wise, smartwatches and activity fitness trackers grew to 25 and 28 percent ownership, respectively.

CTA’s full study can be found here.