This will be a defining year for the drone, with revenue expected to approach $105 million this year and unit sales to approach 700,000, according to the semi-annual industry report released on Wednesday by the Consumer Electronics Association.
Overall, CEA’s “U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts” also projects that retail revenues for the consumer electronics industry are projected to grow 2.4 percent in 2015 to reach $285 billion, led by year-over-year growth in “emerging product” categories, which includes drones, as well as 3D printers, 4K Ultra HDTVs, connected home technologies, health and fitness technology, home robots, smart eyewear and smart watches.?
While the emerging product categories represent less than five percent of the entire CE industry revenue forecast, they are expected to contribute roughly $10 billion to overall revenue.
Led by activity tracking devices, health and fitness technologies are expected to lead unit sales among all wearables with a projected 20.3 million units (a 21 percent increase from last year), with revenue reaching $1.8 billion in 2015 (an 18 percent increase year-over-year), according to the CEA report. Connected home technology is expected to reach $967 million in revenue, jumping 32 percent over last year.
Smartphones, tablets, LCD TVs, laptops and desktops remain the top five largest revenue categories in 2015. Combined, these product categories will contribute roughly $119 billion, according to the CEA forecast. Shipments of 4K UHD displays are projected to reach 4.4 million and revenue to reach $5.3 billion.
