Consumers Tune in to TVs: Mid-Year Consumer Technology Sales Get a Boost, According to Report from The NPD Group.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. -- According to leading consumer and retail information provider The NPD Group, sales of consumer technology which include IT, imaging, audio, video, telecommunications, and consumables, increased almost five percent during the first half of 2006 (January - June) to over $48 billion compared to the same time period in 2005.*

The biggest story of the first half of the year was the sales growth of flat-panel TVs. Both LCD and plasma TVs brought in over four billion dollars in sales for the first half of 2006, a 128 percent increase over the same time period in 2005.

Notebook computers, which now consistently outsell desktops, continued their upward trend. Sales of notebook computers topped seven billion dollars, an almost 17 percent increase over 2005, and unit sales increased over 32 percent. Desktop computers saw a decline in dollar volume greater than nine percent.

Portable digital players, which have seen phenomenal growth for the past couple of years, are beginning to see slowing growth trends, but still singing to the tune of billions. From January through June of 2006 the portable digital player market garnered more than $2.2 billion in sales, a 34 percent increase over this time last year.

While many predicted a slowdown in digital cameras sales during 2006, the camera market posted another strong performance. With over $2.7 billion in sales for the first half of 2006, an almost nine percent increase over the same time period in 2005, cameras remained one of the largest product categories in electronics. Unit volume increased 19.5 percent as second-time and repeat buyers flooded the market.

"The ability of the consumer technology industry to provide continued enhancements to its products and offer extra value to its consumers is what sets apart this industry from others and helps fuel the continued strong sales growth," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis, The NPD Group. "In the first half of the year there are numerous holidays and occasions that help boost technology sales, such as the Super Bowl, graduations, Father's Day, and as we reported earlier, Mother's Day as well. Based on what we've seen so far, we are expecting strong growth for the rest of 2006 with back-to-school, Black Friday, and holiday season consumer technology sales poised to be even more robust than last year," Baker said.

* The data in this press release are based on results reported by The NPD Group's online consumer panel of more than three million consumers. The responding sample is demographically weighted and projected to represent the total U.S. population.