Sales of home networking products and handhelds
were hot in 2000 while traditional computer products
hit the skids, according to a new market report by
NPD Intelect.
Sales of home networking produce increased 300
percent last year and sales of handhelds increased
161 percent compared to the previous year. By
contrast, sales of desktop PCs dropped 17.6 percent
for the year. The study monitors the retail channel.
Overall, technology sales slowed as the year
progressed, the study found. In the first quarter of
2000, sales increased more than 19 percent over the
same quarter in 1999. However, by the fourth
quarter, total sales of technology products was only
9 percent higher over the same quarter in the
previous year, according to the company.
“The softening economy is clearly evident in the
numbers for both computer-related and consumer electronics products,”said
Jim Hirschberg, NPD Intelect’s director of consumer electronics.
PC-related peripherals also had a bad year, with monitor sales decreasing 7
percent and printer sales decreasing 1.1 percent.
On the consumer electronics side, DVD players led the way with a sales
increase of more than 108 percent. Other hot sellers last year were home
CD recorders and satellite television systems, according to the study.