Tough Times Ahead for the Tech Industry?

Before the CES, one of the largest consumer electronics trade shows in the world, officially opens its doors today, consulting firm Accenture conducted an international survey to take the pulse of today’s tech consumer. The results are sobering, as a decade of innovation and growth appears to be coming to an end.

According to Accenture’s findings, consumers are much less inclined to purchase new technology this year than they were 12 months ago. Not only have markets reached a certain level of saturation, but the pace of innovation has also slowed down a bit. Today’s new smartphones, while undisputedly better than they were two years ago, lack the killer features to convince the average consumer of the necessity to upgrade. 47 percent of those who don’t plan to buy a new smartphone this year stated that they are happy with their current device and see no need to upgrade.

As demand for the growth motors of the past few years slows down, it would be the time for a new generation of devices to take the stage. However, smartwatches, fitness trackers and other connected devices have yet failed to make an impression on the broad public. Less than 15 percent of those polled by Accenture plan to buy any of the aforementioned devices hailed as “the next big thing” this year.

Note: A previous version of the chart incorrectly stated that the percentage of those planning to buy a smartphone this year had dropped by 9 points compared to 2015. It dropped by 6 points compared to 2015 and by 9 points compared to 2014.