Installed Base Growth Was Fueled by Historic 2020 Consumer Technology Sales
Port Washington, NY, April 26, 2021 – Consumer technology sales have seen historic growth since the pandemic began as consumers purchased new products to meet their growing technology needs or upgraded existing devices. While the COVID-19 pandemic turned our homes into places of work, school, entertainment, and rest, the devices we leveraged grew and changed to accommodate this lifestyle. In fact, by February 2021, U.S. households had over one billion devices installed, connected, and able to deliver digital content to a screen.
According to NPD’s Device Ownership Trends & Profile Report, from February 2020 through February 2021, there was an increase of more than 100 million TV-connected and mobile devices installed in U.S. households. As of February 2021, U.S. internet homes have an average of 9.5 installed and connected devices, up from 8.5 in February 2020. These devices include connected TVs, streaming media players, Blu-ray disc players, video game consoles, laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
“Stay at home orders issued as a result of the pandemic played a part in the tremendous growth we saw in TV-connected and mobile devices last year as consumers looked for new or different ways to consume content while at home more often than they might otherwise be,” stated John Buffone, Executive Director, Industry Analyst within NPD’s Connected Intelligence practice. “This influx of newer hardware and the growing installed base will continue to facilitate the accelerated growth in free and subscription streaming video during 2021 and beyond.”
Methodology
The results of The NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence Device Ownership Trends Report are based on NPD’s quarterly Connected Home survey, which reaches 5,000 U.S. consumers, aged 18+ from diverse regions and demographical backgrounds. They report on more than 12,500 TVs installed in over 37,000 household rooms. This survey was fielded between January 25 and February 11, 2021.