Who's Buying Information and Consumer Electronics

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THE WHO’S BUYING SERIES BY THE NEW STRATEGIST EDITORS

Information and Consumer Electronics

Wh

New Strategist Publications, Inc. P.O. Box 242, Ithaca, New York 14851 800/848-0842; 607/273-0913 www.newstrategist.com

Copyright 2008. NEW STRATEGIST PUBLICATIONS, INC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microﬁlming, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher.

ISBN 978-1-935114-13-0 ISBN 1-935114-13-1 Printed in the United States of America

Contents About the Data in Who’s Buying Information and Consumer Electronics ...............................................................................5 1.

Percent Reporting Expenditure and Amount Spent, Average Quarter, 2006 .............................9

Household Spending Trends, 2000 to 2006 ................................................................................................................10 2.

Household Spending Trends, 2000 to 2006 .................................................................................... 11

Household Spending on Information and Consumer Electronics, 2006 ..............................................................................13 3.

Information and Consumer Electronics Spending, 2000 to 2006 ................................................15

Household Spending on Information and Consumer Electronics by Demographic Characteristic, 2006 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by Age, 2006 ...............................16 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by Age, 2006 ...............................17 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by Age, 2006 .....................................18 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by Age, 2006 ......................................19 Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by Income, 2006 .........................20 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by Income, 2006 .........................21 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by Income, 2006 ...............................22 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by Income, 2006 ................................23 Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by High-Income Consumer Units, 2006 .........................................................................................24 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by High-Income Consumer Units, 2006 .........................................................................................25 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by High-Income Consumer Units, 2006 .........................................................................................26 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by High-Income Consumer Units, 2006 .........................................................................................27 Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by Household Type, 2006 .........28 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by Household Type, 2006 .........29 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by Household Type, 2006 ...............30 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by Household Type, 2006 ................31 Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2006 .................................................................................................32 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2006 .................................................................................................33 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2006 ......................................................................................................34 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2006 ......................................................................................................35 Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by Region, 2006 ..........................36 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by Region, 2006 ..........................37 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by Region, 2006 ................................38 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by Region, 2006 .................................39 Information and Consumer Electronics: Average Spending by Education, 2006 ....................40 Information and Consumer Electronics: Indexed Spending by Education, 2006 ....................41 Information and Consumer Electronics: Total Spending by Education, 2006 ..........................42 Information and Consumer Electronics: Market Shares by Education, 2006 ...........................43 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 3

Household Spending on Information and Consumer Electronics by Product Category, 2006 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58.

Books ..................................................................................................................................................44 Cable Service and Community Antenna........................................................................................46 Compast Disks, Audio Tapes, Records...........................................................................................48 Cellular Phone Service ......................................................................................................................50 Computers and Computer Hardware for Nonbusiness Use ......................................................52 Computer Information Services ......................................................................................................54 Computer Software and Accessories for Nonbusiness Use ........................................................56 Film ......................................................................................................................................................58 Global Positioning System Services ................................................................................................60 Internet Services Away from Home ................................................................................................62 Magazines and Newspapers, Nonsubscription ............................................................................64 Magazines and Newspapers, Subscription ..................................................................................66 Personal Digital Assistants ...............................................................................................................68 Personal Digital Audio Players .......................................................................................................70 Phone Cards .......................................................................................................................................72 Photographic Equipment .................................................................................................................74 Photo Processing................................................................................................................................76 Residential Telephone Service and Pay Phones ............................................................................78 Sound Components, Equipment, and Accessories .......................................................................80 Streaming and Downloading Audio ..............................................................................................82 Streaming and Downloading Video ...............................................................................................84 Telephones, Answering Machines, and Accessories ....................................................................86 Television Sets ....................................................................................................................................88 Video Cassette Recorders and Video Disc Players .......................................................................90 Video Cassettes, Tapes, and Discs ...................................................................................................92 Video Game Hardware and Software.............................................................................................94 Video Tape, Disc, and Film Rental ..................................................................................................96

Appendix: Spending by Product and Service, Ranked by Amount Spent, 2006......................................................................98 Glossary ..........................................................................................................................................................105

4 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

About the Data in Who’s Buying Information and Consumer Electronics Introduction The spending data in Who’s Buying Information and Consumer Electronics are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, an ongoing, nationwide survey of household spending. The Consumer Expenditure Survey is a complete accounting of household expenditures. It includes everything from big-ticket items, such as homes and cars, to small purchases like laundry detergent and videos. The survey does not include expenditures by government, business, or institutions. The lag time between data collection and dissemination is about two years. The data in this report are from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey, unless otherwise noted. To produce this report, New Strategist Publications analyzed the Consumer Expenditure Survey’s average household spending data in a variety of ways, calculating household spending indexes, aggregate (or total) household spending, and market shares. Spending data by age, household income, household type, race, Hispanic origin, region of residence, and education are shown in this report. These analyses are presented in two formats—for all product categories by demographic characteristic and for all demographic characteristics by product category.

Deﬁnition of consumer unit The Consumer Expenditure Survey uses the consumer unit rather than the household as the sampling unit. The term “household” is used interchangeably with the term “consumer unit” in this report for convenience, although they are not exactly the same. Some households contain more than one consumer unit. The Bureau of Labor Statistics deﬁnes consumer unit as (1) members of a household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is ﬁnancially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who pool their income to make joint expenditure decisions. The bureau deﬁnes ﬁnancial independence in terms of “the three major expense categories: housing, food, and other living expenses. To be considered ﬁnancially independent, at least two of the three major expense categories have to be provided by the respondent.” The Census Bureau uses the household as its sampling unit in the decennial census and in the monthly Current Population Survey. The Census Bureau’s household “consists of all persons who occupy a housing unit. A house, an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters; that is, when the occupants do not live and eat with any other persons in the structure and there is direct access from the outside or through a common hall.” The deﬁnition goes on to specify that “a household includes the related family members and all the unrelated persons, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit. A person living alone in a housing unit or a group of unrelated persons sharing a housing unit as partners is also counted as a household. The count of households excludes group quarters.” Because there can be more than one consumer unit in a household, consumer units outnumber households by several million. Young adults under age 25 head most of the additional consumer units.

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 5

How to use the tables in this report The starting point for all calculations are the unpublished, detailed average household spending data collected by the Consumer Expenditure Survey. These numbers are shown on the report’s average spending tables and on each of the product-speciﬁc tables. New Strategist’s editors calculated the other ﬁgures in the report based on the average ﬁgures. The indexed spending tables and the indexed spending column (Best Customers) on the product-speciﬁc tables reveal whether spending by households in a given segment is above or below the average for all households and by how much. The total (or aggregate) spending tables show the overall size of the market. The market share tables and market share column (Biggest Customers) on the product-speciﬁc tables reveal how much spending each household segment controls. These analyses are described in detail below. • Average Spending The average spending ﬁgures show the average annual spending of households on information and consumer electronics in 2006. The Consumer Expenditure Survey produces average spending data for all households in a segment, e.g., all households with a householder aged 25 to 34, not just for those who purchased the item. When examining spending data, it is important to remember that by including both purchasers and nonpurchasers in the calculation, the average is less than the amount spent on the item by buyers. (See Table 1 for the percentage of households that spent on information and consumer electronics in 2006 and how much the purchasers spent.) Because average spending ﬁgures include both buyers and nonbuyers, they reveal spending patterns by demographic characteristic. By knowing who is most likely to spend on an item, marketers can target their advertising and promotions more efﬁciently, and businesses can determine the market potential of a product or service in a city or neighborhood. By multiplying the average amount households spend on computer information services by the number of households in an area, for example, an Internet service provider can estimate the potential size of the local market for online services. • Indexed Spending (Best Customers) The indexed spending ﬁgures compare the spending of each household segment with that of the average household. To compute the indexes, New Strategist divides the average amount each household segment spends on an item by average household spending and multiplies the resulting ﬁgure by 100. An index of 100 is the average for all households. An index of 125 means the spending of a household segment is 25 percent above average (100 plus 25). An index of 75 indicates spending that is 25 percent below the average for all households (100 minus 25). Indexed spending ﬁgures identify the best customers for a product or service. Households with an index of 178 for cell phone service, for example, are a strong market for this product. Those with an index below 100 are a weak market. Spending indexes can reveal hidden markets—household segments with a high propensity to buy a particular product or service but which are overshadowed by household segments that account for a larger share of the market. Householders aged 45 to 54, for example, account for 22 percent of the newspaper and magazine subscription market—a larger share than the 16 percent controlled by householders aged 65 to 74. But a look at the indexed spending ﬁgures reveals that, in fact, the older householders are the better customers. Householder aged 65 to 74 spend 64 percent more than the average household on newspapers and magazine subscriptions, while those aged 45 to 54 spend only 8 percent more than average. Newspaper and magazine publishers can use this information to target their best customers. Note that because of sampling errors, small differences in index values may be insigniﬁcant. But the broader patterns revealed by indexes can guide marketers to the best customers.

6 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

• Total (Aggregate) Spending To produce the total (aggregate) spending ﬁgures, New Strategist multiplies average spending by the number of households in a segment. The result is the dollar size of the total household market and of each market segment. All totals are shown in thousands of dollars. To convert the numbers in the total spending tables to dollars, you must append “000” to the number. For example, households headed by people aged 45 to 54 spent more than $15 billion ($15,491,801,000) on cell phone service in 2006. When comparing the total spending ﬁgures in this report with total spending estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, other government agencies, or trade associations, keep in mind that the Consumer Expenditure Survey includes only household spending, not spending by businesses or institutions. Sales data also will differ from household spending totals because sales ﬁgures for consumer products include the value of goods sold to industries, government, and foreign markets, which may be a signiﬁcant proportion of sales. • Market Shares (Biggest Customers) New Strategist produces market share ﬁgures by converting total (aggregate) spending data into percentages. To calculate the percentage of total spending on an item that is controlled by each demographic segment—i.e., its market share—each segment’s total spending on an item is divided by aggregate household spending on the item. Market shares reveal the biggest customers—the demographic segments that account for the largest share of spending on a particular product or service. In 2006, for example, households headed by people aged 55 or older accounted for 55 percent of spending on newspaper and magazine subscriptions. By targeting only these householders, newspaper and magazine publishers could reach the majority of their customers. There is a danger here, however. By single-mindedly targeting the biggest customers, businesses cannot nurture potential growth markets. With competition for customers more heated than ever, targeting potential markets is increasingly important to business survival. • Product Speciﬁc Tables The product-speciﬁc tables reveal at a glance the demographic characteristics of spending by individual product category. These tables show average spending, indexed spending (Best Customers), and market shares (Biggest Customers) by age, income, household type, race and Hispanic origin, region of residence, and education. If you want to see the spending pattern for an individual product at a glance, these are the tables for you.

History and methodology of the Consumer Expenditure Survey The Consumer Expenditure Survey is an ongoing study of the day-to-day spending of American households. In taking the survey, government interviewers collect spending data on products and services as well as the amount and sources of household income, changes in saving and debt, and demographic and economic characteristics of household members. The Bureau of the Census collects data for the Consumer Expenditure Survey under contract with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is responsible for analysis and release of the survey data. Since the late 19th century, the federal government has conducted expenditure surveys about every 10 years. Although the results have been used for a variety of purposes, their primary application is to track consumer prices. In 1980, the Consumer Expenditure Survey became continuous with annual release of data (with a lag time of about two years between data collection and release). The survey is used to update prices for the market basket of products and services used in calculating the Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Expenditure Survey consists of two separate surveys: an interview survey and a diary survey. In the interview portion of the survey, respondents are asked each quarter for ﬁve consecutive quarters to report their expenditures for the previous three months. The purchase of big-ticket items

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 7

such as houses, cars, and major appliances, or recurring expenses such as insurance premiums, utility payments, and rent are recorded by the interview survey. The interview component covers about 95 percent of all expenditures. Expenditures on small, frequently purchased items are recorded during a two-week period by the diary survey. These detailed records include expenses for food and beverages purchased in grocery stores and at restaurants, as well as other items such as tobacco, housekeeping supplies, nonprescription drugs, and personal care products and services. The diary survey is intended to capture expenditures respondents are likely to forget or recall incorrectly over longer periods of time. Two separate, nationally representative samples are used for the interview and diary surveys. For the interview survey, about 7,500 consumer units are interviewed on a rotating panel basis each quarter for ﬁve consecutive quarters. Another 7,500 consumer units keep weekly diaries of spending for two consecutive weeks. Data collection is carried out in 105 areas of the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reviews, audits, and cleanses the data, then weights them to reﬂect the number and characteristics of all U.S. consumer units. Like any sample survey, the Consumer Expenditure Survey is subject to two major types of error. Nonsampling error occurs when respondents misinterpret questions or interviewers are inconsistent in the way they ask questions or record answers. Respondents may forget items, recall expenses incorrectly, or deliberately give wrong answers. A respondent may remember how much he or she spent at the grocery store but forget the items picked up at a local convenience store. Nonsampling error can also be caused by mistakes during the various stages of data processing and reﬁnement. Sampling error occurs when a sample does not accurately represent the population it is supposed to represent. This kind of error is present in every sample-based survey and is minimized by using a proper sampling procedure. Standard error tables documenting the extent of sampling error in the Consumer Expenditure Survey are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://www.bls.gov/cex/ csxstnderror.htm. Although the Consumer Expenditure Survey is the best source of information about the spending behavior of American households, it should be treated with caution because of the above problems.

For more information To ﬁnd out more about the Consumer Expenditure Survey, contact the specialists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics at (202) 691-6900, or visit the Consumer Expenditure Survey home page at http://www.bls .gov/cex/. The web site includes news releases, technical documentation, and current and historical summary-level data. The detailed average spending data shown in this report are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics only by special request. For a comprehensive look at detailed household spending data for all products and services, see the 13th edition of Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What. New Strategist’s books are available in hardcopy or as downloads by visiting http://www.newstrategist.com or by calling 1-800-848-0842.

8 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 1. Percent reporting expenditure and amount spent,

average quarter, 2006 (percent of consumer units reporting expenditure and amount spent by purchasers during an average quarter, 2006) average quarter percent reporting expenditure

Books (not purchased through book clubs) Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Radios Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone and pay phones Sound components and component systems Sound equipment accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Tape recorders and players Telephone answering devices Telephones and accessories Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

19.2% 73.0 52.8 16.8 49.7 4.5 5.1 7.1 0.4 0.7 22.5 17.1 0.3 1.8 8.1 11.6 2.7 1.0 22.0 0.6 93.8 1.0 1.0 2.3 0.6 0.2 0.3 5.2 3.9 2.4 17.2 5.5

amount spent by purchasers

$63.86 184.73 247.86 50.58 88.82 120.29 693.53 22.60 102.56 63.08 54.19 21.32 302.94 244.52 65.23 38.44 298.17 92.00 35.78 255.95 289.80 338.12 187.50 39.52 40.87 75.00 55.65 101.30 831.57 165.84 59.74 156.14

Note: Expenditures shown are total net outlays at the time of purchase, whether or not the item was ﬁnanced. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 9

Household Spending Trends, 2000 to 2006 Between 2000 and 2006, spending by the average household rose by 8.7 percent, after adjusting for inﬂation. In 2006, the average household spent $48,398, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, almost $4,000 more than the inﬂation-adjusted $44,541 of 2000. Spending surged on a number of items between 2000 and 2006. Perhaps not surprisingly, the biggest gainer was gasoline. The average household spent 47 percent more on gasoline in 2006 than in 2000, after adjusting for inﬂation, and 42 percent more on natural gas. It spent $1,465 on out-of-pocket health insurance costs, 27 percent more than in 2000. Spending on property taxes climbed 24 percent, and spending on education rose 20 percent. Households boosted their spending on a handful of discretionary categories, but by smaller margins. Spending on entertainment grew 9 percent, primarily due to a 24 percent increase in spending on audio and visual equipment and services. Behind this gain is the growing popularity of high-priced high-deﬁnition television sets. Spending on food away from home (primarily restaurant meals) climbed 8 percent. The average household cut spending on a number of products and services between 2000 and 2006. Apparel spending fell 14 percent, after adjusting for inﬂation, driven in part by a 24 percent decline on footwear spending. Spending on vehicle purchases fell 15 percent partially fueled by a 24 percent spending decline on used cars and trucks. The average household’s spending on reading material dropped 32 percent between 2000 and 2006. Personal taxes declined 33 percent on average, from an inﬂation-adjusted $3,649 in 2000 to $2,432 in 2006. At the time the data shown in this report were collected, average household spending had recovered from the recession of 2001 and the sluggish economy that followed. But the effects of the 2008 slowdown on consumer spending had yet to be felt.

Households are spending less on some items, more on others 60

(percent change in spending by the average household on selected products and services, 2000 to 2006; in 2006 dollars)

47%

40

40%

27%

20

20%

20%

9%

0

0%

–3%

-20 -40

–14%

–20%

–32% readinga material

apparel b

food c at home

10 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

entertainment d

education e

health insurance f

gasoline g

Table 2. Household spending trends, 2000 to 2006 (average annual spending of total consumer units, 2000 and 2006; percent change, 2000–06; in 2006 dollars) percent change 2006 2000 2000–06 Number of consumer units (in 000s) Average before-tax income of consumer units Average annual spending of consumer units

118,843 $60,533 48,398

109,367 $52,272 44,541

FOOD Food at home Cereals and bakery products Cereals and cereal products Bakery products Meats, poultry, ﬁsh, and eggs Beef Pork Other meats Poultry Fish and seafood Eggs Dairy products Fresh milk and cream Other dairy products Fruits and vegetables Fresh fruits Fresh vegetables Processed fruits Processed vegetables Other food at home Sugar and other sweets Fats and oils Miscellaneous foods Nonalcoholic beverages Food prepared by consumer unit on trips

6,111 3,417 446 143 304 797 236 157 105 141 122 37 368 140 228 592 195 193 109 95 1,212 125 86 627 332 43

6,039 3,537 530 183 348 931 279 196 118 170 129 40 380 153 226 610 191 186 135 98 1,085 137 97 512 293 47

Food away from home

2,694

2,502

7.7

497

436

14.1

16,366 9,673 6,516 3,753 1,649 1,115 2,590 567

14,422 8,329 5,388 3,090 1,333 966 2,381 560

13.5 16.1 20.9 21.5 23.7 15.4 8.8 1.3

3,397 509 1,266 138 1,087 397

2,914 359 1,067 114 1,027 347

16.6 41.6 18.7 21.5 5.9 14.6

Household services Personal services Other household services

948 393 555

801 382 419

18.4 3.0 32.4

Housekeeping supplies Laundry and cleaning supplies Other household products Postage and stationery

640 151 330 159

564 153 265 148

13.4 –1.5 24.7 7.8

1,708 154 463

1,813 124 458

–5.8 24.1 1.1

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES HOUSING Shelter Owned dwellings Mortgage interest and charges Property taxes Maintenance, repair, insurance, other expenses Rented dwellings Other lodging Utilities, fuels, and public services Natural gas Electricity Fuel oil and other fuels Telephone services Water and other public services

Household furnishings and equipment Household textiles Furniture

8.7% 15.8 8.7 1.2 –3.4 –15.9 –21.7 –12.6 –14.4 –15.3 –19.7 –11.2 –16.9 –5.3 –7.0 –3.3 –8.7 0.9 –2.9 2.2 3.7 –19.0 –3.4 11.7 –8.7 –11.5 22.6 13.4 –8.2

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 11

Floor coverings Major appliances Small appliances and miscellaneous housewares Miscellaneous household equipment APPAREL AND RELATED SERVICES Men and boys Men, aged 16 or older Boys, aged 2 to 15 Women and girls Women, aged 16 or older Girls, aged 2 to 15 Children under age 2 Footwear Other apparel products and services

percent change 2000–06

2006

2000

$48 241 109 693

$52 221 102 856

1,874 444 353 91

2,173 515 403 112

–13.8 –13.8 –12.3 –19.0

751 629 122

849 711 138

–11.5 –11.5 –11.7

–6.8% 8.9 7.0 –19.0

96

96

0.0

304

402

–24.3

280

311

–10.1

TRANSPORTATION Vehicle purchases Cars and trucks, new Cars and trucks, used Other vehicles

8,508 3,421 1,798 1,568 54

8,683 4,002 1,879 2,072 50

–2.0 –14.5 –4.3 –24.3 7.3

Gasoline and motor oil

2,227

1,511

47.3

Other vehicle expenses Vehicle ﬁnance charges Maintenance and repairs Vehicle insurance Vehicle rentals, leases, licenses, other charges

2,355 298 688 886 482

2,670 384 731 911 645

–11.8 –22.4 –5.8 –2.7 –25.3

Public transportation

505

500

1.0

HEALTH CARE Health insurance Medical services Drugs Medical supplies

2,766 1,465 670 514 117

2,419 1,151 665 487 116

14.4 27.3 0.8 5.5 0.9

ENTERTAINMENT Fees and admissions Audio and visual equipment and services Pets, toys, and playground equipment Other entertainment products and services

2,376 606 906 412 451

2,181 603 728 391 460

8.9 0.5 24.4 5.4 –2.0

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS, SERVICES

585

660

–11.4

READING

117

171

–31.5

EDUCATION

888

740

20.0

TOBACCO PRODUCTS, SMOKING SUPPLIES

327

373

–12.4

MISCELLANEOUS

846

908

–6.9

CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

1,869

1,396

33.9

PERSONAL INSURANCE AND PENSIONS Life and other personal insurance Pensions and Social Security

5,270 322 4,948

3,940 467 3,472

33.8 –31.1 –*

PERSONAL TAXES Federal income taxes State and local income taxes Other taxes

2,432 1,711 519 202

3,649 2,820 658 171

–33.4 –39.3 –21.1 18.2

GIFTS FOR PEOPLE IN OTHER HOUSEHOLDS

1,154

1,268

–9.0

* Spending in 2006 on pensions and Social Security is not comparable with 2000 because of changes in methodology. Note: Average spending is rounded to the nearest dollar, but the percent change calculation is based on unrounded ﬁgures. Spending by category will not add to total spending because gift spending is also included in the preceding product and service categories and personal taxes are not included in the total. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000 and 2006 Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Internet site http://www.bls.gov/cex/; calculations by New Strategist

12 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Household Spending on Information and Consumer Electronics, 2006 Between 2000 and 2006, average household spending on information and consumer electronics climbed by a substantial 10 percent, to $2,532, after adjusting for inﬂation. In 2006, the average American household spent almost as much on information and consumer electronics as it did on out-of-pocket health care costs ($2,766). Dramatic is the word that best describes spending trends in the information and consumer electronics category. Most items experienced either a big gain or a big loss between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. The average household nearly tripled the amount it spends on cellular phone service during the six-year period. Spending on computer information services (Internet) rose by more than 140 percent. But spending on residential telephone service fell by 39 percent. The average household cut spending on books by 21 percent and spending on newspaper and magazine subscriptions declined an even larger 38 percent. But spending on videogame hardware and software climbed 56 percent during those years, and spending on videocassettes and DVDs grew by an even larger 69 percent. As high-deﬁnition television sets became popular, the average household boosted its spending on television sets by 71 percent between 2000 and 2006. Spending on photographic equipment increased by 38 percent as households bought digital cameras. Spending on ﬁlm, however, fell 74 percent. In 2006, as in 2000, the average household devoted the largest share of its information and consumer electronics spending to residential phone service. In 2006, residential phone service accounted for 21 percent of information and consumer electronics spending, down from a much larger 38 percent share in 2000. Cable service ranked second in both years, its share climbing from 16 to 21 percent. Cell phone service ranked third in 2006, up from fourth in 2000, its share more than tripling from 6 to 21 percent. Computer information service—or Internet service—ranked fourth in 2006, its share more than doubling in the six-year period. Computer hardware ranked ﬁfth, with its share of the information and consumer electronics dollar falling from nearly 10 percent in 2000 to less than 6 percent in 2006.

Spending by age Householders aged 35 to 54 spend the most on information and consumer electronics—more than $2,900 in 2006, or 16 percent more than the average household. A look at spending by detailed category reveals sharp differences in spending patterns by age. Spending on computer information services peaks in the 35-to-54 age group, at 18 to 22 percent above average. Spending on cell phone service skews younger, with spending 24 to 26 percent above average in the 25-to-44 age group. People aged 55 or older control more than half of household spending on newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Householders aged 65 to 74 are the biggest spenders on global positioning system services, while householders under age 25 spend the most on CDs.

Spending by household income Not surprisingly, spending on information and consumer electronics rises with income in most categories. Spending on phone cards, however, is above average only among householders with household incomes between $20,000 and $40,000. Income makes a big difference on book spending. Households with incomes of $100,000 or more spend more than twice the average on books and account for 38 percent of the market—a much greater share than their 16 percent of households. The afﬂuent also account for a disproportionate share of spending on items such as streaming and downloading audio, global positioning services, personal digital audio players (e.g., iPods), and television sets.

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 13

Spending by household type Perhaps nothing makes more of a difference in spending on information and consumer electronics than children. Married couples with school-aged or older children at home spend 34 to 41 percent more than the average household on the overall category. Couples with children aged 18 or older at home are the best customers of cell phone service, spending 66 percent more than the average household on the item. Married couples with school-aged children spend more than twice the average on video games and personal digital audio players. Couples without children at home (most of them empty-nesters) spend 73 percent more than the average household on newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

Spending by race and Hispanic origin Blacks and Hispanics spend slightly less than the average household on information and consumer electronics overall, while Asians and non-Hispanic whites spend slightly more than average. Black and Hispanic spending is well above average on a few items, however. Blacks spend 18 percent more than the average household on residential phone service. Hispanics spend almost three times the average on phone cards. Asians spend more on computers, Internet services away from home, personal digital assistants, and cellular phone service than any other racial or ethnic group. Spending on cell phone service is slightly below average among non-Hispanic whites.

Spending by region Spending on information and consumer electronics is well above average on most items in the West, about average in the Northeast and South, and below average in the Midwest. Households in the West spend 45 percent more than the average household on personal digital audio players, 48 percent more on streaming and downloading audio, and 68 percent more on computer software. Spending on books is 30 percent below average in the South. Spending on nonsubscription newspapers and magazines is 44 percent above average in the Northeast.

Spending by education College graduates spend 27 percent more than the average household on information and consumer electronics. On some items, however, their spending is not far above average. College graduates spend only 13 percent more than the average household on cable service and only 9 percent more on residential phone service. They spend 25 percent less than average on phone cards. Book spending shows the biggest difference by education. College graduates spend twice the average on books and control 56 percent of the book market. They spent 58 percent more than the average household on television sets in 2006.

14 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 3. Information and consumer electronics spending, 2000 to 2006 (average annual household spending on information and consumer electronics, and percent distribution by type, 2000 and 2006; percent change in spending, 2000–06; in 2006 dollars) 2006 average household spending Information and consumer electronics spending, total Residential telephone and pay phones Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Computer information services Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Television sets Books Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Telephones and answering machines Videogame hardware and software Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Sound components, equipment, and accessories Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Phone cards Photo processing Personal digital audio players Video cassette recorders and video disc players Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Film Personal digital assistants Streaming and downloading audio Internet services away from home Global positioning services Streaming and downloading video

$2,532.01 541.95 539.04 523.78 176.44 142.59 130.39 53.55 48.66 41.20 34.70 34.10 34.03 33.91 32.56 31.44 21.70 21.16 17.88 17.41 16.12 14.55 6.45 6.39 4.12 3.62 1.64 1.60 1.03

2000 percent distribution

average household spending (in 2006$)

100.0% 21.4 21.3 20.7 7.0 5.6 5.1 2.1 1.9 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0

$2,305.76 886.55 376.02 139.89 71.84 219.90 76.46 67.38 77.89 24.35 36.48 21.92 46.20 49.70 23.66 48.66 20.48 – 36.80 – 27.86 25.48 3.22 25.05 – – – – –

percent distribution 100.0% 38.4 16.3 6.1 3.1 9.5 3.3 2.9 3.4 1.1 1.6 1.0 2.0 2.2 1.0 2.1 0.9 – 1.6 – 1.2 1.1 0.1 1.1 – – – – –

percent change 2000–06 9.8% –38.9 43.4 274.4 145.6 –35.2 70.5 –20.5 –37.5 69.2 –4.9 55.6 –26.3 –31.8 37.6 –35.4 6.0 – –51.4 – –42.1 –42.9 100.3 –74.5 – – – – –

Note: “–” means data are not available. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000 and 2006 Consumer Expenditure Surveys; calculations by New Strategist

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 15

Table 4. Information and consumer electronics: Average spending by age, 2006 (average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics, by age of consumer unit reference person, 2006) total consumer units Number of consumer units (in 000s) 118,843 Number of persons per CU 2.5 Average before-tax income of CU $60,533.00 Average spending of CU, total 48,398.32 Information and consumer electronics 2,532.01 Books 53.55 Cable service and community antenna 539.04 Cellular phone service 523.78 Compact discs, records, and audio tapes 34.03 Computer information services 176.44 Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use 21.70 Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use 142.59 Film 6.39 Global positioning services 1.60 Internet services away from home 1.64 Newspaper and magazine subscriptions 48.66 Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription 14.55 Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

under 25 8,167 2.0 $29,057.00 28,180.58

25 to 34 20,071 2.9 $57,208.00 47,582.37

35 to 44 23,950 3.2 $75,613.00 57,476.34

45 to 54 24,696 2.7 $77,043.00 57,563.25

55 to 64 18,952 2.0 $64,425.00 50,788.79

65 to 74 11,764 1.9 $46,064.00 40,959.64

75+ 11,243 1.5 $29,525.00 28,904.49

1,755.87 28.15 295.44 501.03 46.49 104.83

2,625.40 49.42 523.63 657.56 36.64 194.02

2,947.01 61.12 577.83 648.93 40.94 216.06

2,949.14 63.06 599.80 627.30 42.32 208.74

2,582.39 62.14 583.54 476.18 29.30 181.81

2,155.50 49.62 551.46 292.85 21.65 140.68

1,438.64 31.98 439.36 129.37 8.27 70.13

14.65

22.46

26.67

30.46

18.91

13.89

8.50

117.65 4.08 – 1.06 7.43

149.88 4.47 0.54 1.19 19.11

188.69 6.60 1.30 1.50 35.61

178.36 8.46 2.31 2.82 52.36

133.09 8.23 1.80 2.05 67.05

92.83 7.90 3.29 0.90 80.01

38.97 1.85 1.59 0.70 87.25

10.18

4.12 17.41 21.16 17.88 32.56

4.99 15.61 26.10 14.93 28.34

13.33 7.23 18.63 37.45 18.70 38.74

15.63 4.86 29.03 22.16 21.31 36.64

17.42 5.12 23.92 20.95 18.67 43.07

16.37 2.63 10.04 15.75 20.15 32.70

13.03 0.78 5.68 11.85 19.10 19.48

9.85 0.21 2.17 5.65 4.41 6.29

31.44

34.44

45.84

43.58

35.16

22.94

12.48

3.66

6.45

6.39

5.12

4.87

11.32

6.62

6.19

1.55

541.95

194.86

433.58

599.36

621.17

623.31

584.31

509.69

33.91 3.62 1.03 34.70 130.39

35.60 2.38 0.73 32.34 110.54

34.98 5.06 0.86 28.26 161.54

46.09 4.90 2.00 39.31 143.92

33.04 5.27 1.18 48.02 144.54

34.73 2.35 0.80 27.44 133.26

34.29 0.79 0.46 41.86 112.93

4.97 0.72 0.16 14.50 42.71

16.12 41.20 34.10

24.04 51.26 42.33

16.12 53.37 47.67

20.91 54.49 52.70

18.31 45.97 40.02

13.40 36.64 19.16

11.80 17.40 7.99

4.43 5.95 3.75

Note: “–” means sample is too small to make a reliable estimate. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

16 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 5. Information and consumer electronics: Indexed spending by age, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics by age of consumer unit reference person, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units)

Average spending of CU, total Average spending of CU, index

total consumer units $48,398 100

under 25 $28,181 58

25 to 34 $47,582 98

35 to 44 $57,476 119

45 to 54 $57,563 119

55 to 64 $50,789 105

65 to 74 $40,960 85

75+ $28,904 60

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100 100 100 100 100 100

69 53 55 96 137 59

104 92 97 126 108 110

116 114 107 124 120 122

116 118 111 120 124 118

102 116 108 91 86 103

85 93 102 56 64 80

57 60 82 25 24 40

100

68

104

123

140

87

64

39

100

83

Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100 100 100 100

64 – 65 15

105 70 34 73 39

132 103 81 91 73

125 132 144 172 108

93 129 113 125 138

65 124 206 55 164

27 29 99 43 179

100 100 100 100 100 100

70 121 90 123 84 87

92 175 107 177 105 119

107 118 167 105 119 113

120 124 137 99 104 132

113 64 58 74 113 100

90 19 33 56 107 60

68 5 12 27 25 19

100

110

146

139

112

73

40

12

100

99

79

76

176

103

96

24

100

36

80

111

115

115

108

94

100 100 100 100 100

105 66 71 93 85

103 140 83 81 124

136 135 194 113 110

97 146 115 138 111

102 65 78 79 102

101 22 45 121 87

15 20 16 42 33

100 100 100

149 124 124

100 130 140

130 132 155

114 112 117

83 89 56

73 42 23

27 14 11

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

Note: “–” means sample is too small to make a reliable estimate. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 17

Table 6. Information and consumer electronics: Total spending by age, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by consumer unit (CU) age groups, 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands)

Number of consumer units Total spending of all CUs

total consumer units 118,843

under 25 8,167

$5,751,801,544 $230,150,797

Information and consumer electronics 300,911,664 Books 6,364,043 Cable service, community antenna 64,061,131 Cellular phone service 62,247,587 Compact discs, records, and audio tapes 4,044,227 Computer information services 20,968,659 Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use 2,578,893 Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use 16,945,823 Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

25 to 34 20,071

35 to 44 23,950

45 to 54 24,696

55 to 64 18,952

65 to 74 11,764

75+ 11,243

$955,025,748 $1,376,558,343 $1,421,582,022 $962,549,148 $481,849,205 $324,973,181

14,340,190 229,901 2,412,858 4,091,912

52,694,403 991,909 10,509,778 13,197,887

70,580,890 1,463,824 13,839,029 15,541,874

72,831,961 1,557,330 14,812,661 15,491,801

48,941,455 1,177,677 11,059,250 9,024,563

25,357,302 583,730 6,487,375 3,445,087

16,174,630 359,551 4,939,724 1,454,507

379,684 856,147

735,401 3,894,175

980,513 5,174,637

1,045,135 5,155,043

555,294 3,445,663

254,691 1,654,960

92,980 788,472

119,647

450,795

638,747

752,240

358,382

163,402

95,566

960,848

759,407 190,149 194,903

33,321 – 8,657

3,008,241 89,717 10,838 23,884

4,519,126 158,070 31,135 35,925

4,404,779 208,928 57,048 69,643

2,522,322 155,975 34,114 38,852

1,092,052 92,936 38,704 10,588

438,140 20,800 17,876 7,870

5,782,900

60,681

383,557

852,860

1,293,083

1,270,732

941,238

980,952

1,729,166

83,140

489,633 2,069,057 2,514,718 2,124,913 3,869,528

40,753 127,487 213,159 121,933 231,453

267,546 145,113 373,923 751,659 375,328 777,551

374,339 116,397 695,269 530,732 510,375 877,528

430,204 126,444 590,728 517,381 461,074 1,063,657

310,244 49,844 190,278 298,494 381,883 619,730

153,285 9,176 66,820 139,403 224,692 229,163

110,744 2,361 24,397 63,523 49,582 70,718

3,736,424

281,271

920,055

1,043,741

868,311

434,759

146,815

41,149

766,537

52,187

102,764

116,637

279,559

125,462

72,819

17,427

64,406,964

1,591,422

8,702,384

14,354,672

15,340,414

11,812,971

6,873,823

5,730,445

4,029,966 430,212 122,408 4,123,852 15,495,939

290,745 19,437 5,962 264,121 902,780

702,084 101,559 17,261 567,206 3,242,269

1,103,856 117,355 47,900 941,475 3,446,884

815,956 130,148 29,141 1,185,902 3,569,560

658,203 44,537 15,162 520,043 2,525,544

403,388 9,294 5,411 492,441 1,328,509

55,878 8,095 1,799 163,024 480,189

1,915,749 4,896,332 4,052,546

196,335 418,640 345,709

323,545 1,071,189 956,785

500,795 1,305,036 1,262,165

452,184 1,135,275 988,334

253,957 694,401 363,120

138,815 204,694 93,994

49,806 66,896 42,161

Note: Numbers may not add to total because of rounding. “–” means sample is too small to make a reliable estimate. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

18 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 7. Information and consumer electronics: Market shares by age, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by consumer unit age groups, 2006)

Share of total consumer units Share of total before-tax income Share of total spending

total consumer units 100.0% 100.0 100.0

under 25 6.9% 3.3 4.0

25 to 34 16.9% 16.0 16.6

35 to 44 20.2% 25.2 23.9

45 to 54 20.8% 26.4 24.7

55 to 64 15.9% 17.0 16.7

65 to 74 9.9% 7.5 8.4

75+ 9.5% 4.6 5.6

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

4.8 3.6 3.8 6.6 9.4 4.1

17.5 15.6 16.4 21.2 18.2 18.6

23.5 23.0 21.6 25.0 24.2 24.7

24.2 24.5 23.1 24.9 25.8 24.6

16.3 18.5 17.3 14.5 13.7 16.4

8.4 9.2 10.1 5.5 6.3 7.9

5.4 5.6 7.7 2.3 2.3 3.8

100.0

4.6

17.5

24.8

29.2

13.9

6.3

3.7

100.0

5.7

Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

4.4 – 4.4 1.0

17.8 11.8 5.7 12.3 6.6

26.7 20.8 16.4 18.4 14.7

26.0 27.5 30.0 35.7 22.4

14.9 20.5 17.9 19.9 22.0

6.4 12.2 20.4 5.4 16.3

2.6 2.7 9.4 4.0 17.0

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

4.8 8.3 6.2 8.5 5.7 6.0

15.5 29.6 18.1 29.9 17.7 20.1

21.6 23.8 33.6 21.1 24.0 22.7

24.9 25.8 28.6 20.6 21.7 27.5

17.9 10.2 9.2 11.9 18.0 16.0

8.9 1.9 3.2 5.5 10.6 5.9

6.4 0.5 1.2 2.5 2.3 1.8

100.0

7.5

24.6

27.9

23.2

11.6

3.9

1.1

100.0

6.8

13.4

15.2

36.5

16.4

9.5

2.3

100.0

2.5

13.5

22.3

23.8

18.3

10.7

8.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

7.2 4.5 4.9 6.4 5.8

17.4 23.6 14.1 13.8 20.9

27.4 27.3 39.1 22.8 22.2

20.2 30.3 23.8 28.8 23.0

16.3 10.4 12.4 12.6 16.3

10.0 2.2 4.4 11.9 8.6

1.4 1.9 1.5 4.0 3.1

100.0 100.0 100.0

10.2 8.6 8.5

16.9 21.9 23.6

26.1 26.7 31.1

23.6 23.2 24.4

13.3 14.2 9.0

7.2 4.2 2.3

2.6 1.4 1.0

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

Note: Numbers may not add to total because of rounding. “–” means sample is too small to make a reliable estimate. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 19

Table 8. Information and consumer electronics: Average spending by income, 2006 (average annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by before-tax income of consumer units (CU), 2006) total consumer units Number of consumer units (in 000s) 118,843 Number of persons per CU 2.5 Average before-tax income of CU $60,533.00 Average spending of CU, total 48,398.32

under $20,000 26,075 1.7 $10,783.16 20,824.88

$20,000– $39,999 27,536 2.2 $29,630.20 31,972.38

$40,000– $49,999 11,446 2.5 $44,620.00 39,572.86

$50,000– $69,999 17,674 2.8 $59,253.00 50,085.83

$70,000– $79,999 6,956 2.8 $74,647.00 57,351.54

Information and consumer electronics 2,532.01 Books 53.55 Cable service and community antenna 539.04 Cellular phone service 523.78 Compact discs, records, and audio tapes 34.03 Computer information services 176.44

1,341.32 20.07 335.36 230.29 17.64 65.48

1,918.17 28.93 461.94 397.08 25.21 120.78

2,412.33 42.53 560.94 521.35 34.16 170.96

2,804.30 49.25 592.70 637.09 38.38 205.32

3,036.45 69.54 618.69 683.89 41.35 229.43

3,315.73 75.42 678.60 705.75 40.03 255.91

4,274.77 128.54 763.78 850.98 59.37 324.25

21.70

7.22

9.72

19.65

20.53

31.77

36.24

49.86

142.59

55.52

6.39 1.60 1.64 48.66

3.02 0.21 0.90 24.57

75.75 4.42 0.74 1.04 35.53

101.67 6.08 1.54 1.68 41.77

158.95 7.29 0.87 1.05 50.72

176.39 12.14 3.01 2.09 49.75

215.68 7.69 1.98 1.51 65.70

317.37 10.43 4.86 3.99 93.62

14.55 4.12 17.41 21.16 17.88 32.56

8.69 2.25 4.64 19.93 7.50 7.09

11.02 2.00 6.64 24.22 9.64 15.79

14.51 2.63 8.43 19.54 14.87 24.20

15.71 4.12 19.69 21.20 18.50 37.88

17.74 6.00 24.67 21.06 31.44 33.94

18.66 2.32 31.08 19.20 25.81 44.51

23.31 10.98 43.91 20.43 36.16 85.21

31.44

13.48

23.33

29.95

34.77

46.90

43.64

53.49

6.45

4.08

2.84

6.44

6.49

4.88

7.23

15.13

541.95

393.76

480.59

540.53

588.72

610.34

632.18

718.68

33.91 3.62 1.03 34.70 130.39

11.42 0.93 0.33 23.59 40.49

17.98 1.55 0.67 26.01 72.54

46.25 3.30 1.34 30.95 78.93

42.06 2.46 1.19 33.26 115.91

15.88 3.79 0.93 40.06 135.10

28.69 5.26 1.27 44.38 192.66

81.92 10.69 2.10 59.17 347.74

16.12 41.20 34.10

6.74 20.04 16.06

11.07 30.79 20.34

13.13 40.13 34.87

16.04 45.18 38.97

21.49 56.42 47.76

28.14 56.77 49.42

29.77 68.39 60.64

Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

$80,000– $100,000 $99,999 or more 10,241 18,915 3.0 3.2 $88,763.00 $164,452.00 65,809.86 100,386.31

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey; calculations by New Strategist

20 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 9. Information and consumer electronics: Indexed spending by income, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics by before-tax income of consumer unit, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units)

Average spending of CU, total Average spending of CU, index

total consumer units $48,398 100

under $20,000 $20,825 43

$20,000– $39,999 $31,972 66

$40,000– $49,999 $39,573 82

$50,000– $69,999 $50,086 103

$70,000– $79,999 $57,352 118

$80,000– $99,999 $65,810 136

$100,000 or more $100,386 207

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100 100 100 100 100 100

53 37 62 44 52 37

76 54 86 76 74 68

95 79 104 100 100 97

111 92 110 122 113 116

120 130 115 131 122 130

131 141 126 135 118 145

169 240 142 162 174 184

100

33

45

91

95

146

167

230

100

39

Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100 100 100 100

47 13 55 50

53 69 46 63 73

71 95 96 102 86

111 114 54 64 104

124 190 188 127 102

151 120 124 92 135

223 163 304 243 192

100 100 100 100 100 100

60 55 27 94 42 22

76 49 38 114 54 48

100 64 48 92 83 74

108 100 113 100 103 116

122 146 142 100 176 104

128 56 179 91 144 137

160 267 252 97 202 262

100

43

74

95

111

149

139

170

100

63

44

100

101

76

112

235

100

73

89

100

109

113

117

133

100 100 100 100 100

34 26 32 68 31

53 43 65 75 56

136 91 130 89 61

124 68 116 96 89

47 105 90 115 104

85 145 123 128 148

242 295 204 171 267

100 100 100

42 49 47

69 75 60

81 97 102

100 110 114

133 137 140

175 138 145

185 166 178

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey; calculations by New Strategist

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 21

Table 10. Information and consumer electronics: Total spending by income, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by before-tax income group of consumer units (CU), 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands)

Number of consumer units Total spending of all CUs

total consumer units 118,843

under $20,000 26,075

$20,000– $39,999 27,536

$40,000– $49,999 11,446

$50,000– $69,999 17,674

$70,000– $79,999 6,956

$80,000– $99,999 10,241

$100,000 or more 18,915

$5,751,801,544 $543,008,700 $880,391,370 $452,950,956 $885,216,959 $398,937,312 $673,958,776 $1,898,807,054

Information and consumer electronics 300,911,664 Books 6,364,043 Cable service, community antenna 64,061,131 Cellular phone service 62,247,587 Compact discs, records, and audio tapes 4,044,227 Computer information services 20,968,659 Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use 2,578,893 Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use 16,945,823 Film 759,407 Global positioning services 190,149 Internet services away from home 194,903 Newspaper and magazine subscriptions 5,782,900 Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

34,974,968 523,322 8,744,580 6,004,826

52,818,614 796,568 12,719,900 10,933,950

27,611,529 486,798 6,420,519 5,967,372

49,563,198 870,445 10,475,380 11,259,929

21,121,546 483,720 4,303,608 4,757,139

33,956,391 772,376 6,949,543 7,227,586

80,857,275 2,431,334 14,446,899 16,096,287

459,904 1,707,491

694,056 3,325,721

390,995 1,956,808

678,328 3,628,826

287,631 1,595,915

409,947 2,620,774

1,122,984 6,133,189

188,221

267,542

224,914

362,847

220,992

371,134

943,102

1,447,710 78,748 5,370 23,411

2,085,984 121,827 20,401 28,650

1,163,715 69,592 17,627 19,229

2,809,282 128,843 15,376 18,558

1,226,969 84,446 20,938 14,538

2,208,779 78,753 20,277 15,464

6,003,054 197,283 91,927 75,471

640,714

978,440

478,099

896,425

346,061

672,834

1,770,822

1,729,166

226,673

489,633 2,069,057 2,514,718 2,124,913 3,869,528

58,635 121,051 519,768 195,563 184,884

303,552 55,103 182,802 666,859 265,426 434,658

166,081 30,103 96,490 223,655 170,202 276,993

277,659 72,817 348,001 374,689 326,969 669,491

123,399 41,736 171,605 146,493 218,697 236,087

191,097 23,759 318,290 196,627 264,320 455,827

440,909 207,687 830,558 386,433 683,966 1,611,747

3,736,424

351,459

642,462

342,808

614,525

326,236

446,917

1,011,763

766,537

106,428

78,162

73,712

114,704

33,945

74,042

286,184

64,406,964

10,267,189

13,233,589

6,186,906

10,405,037

4,245,525

6,474,155

13,593,832

4,029,966

297,837

430,212 122,408 4,123,852 15,495,939

24,338 8,578 615,183 1,055,831

495,208 42,622 18,492 716,143 1,997,504

529,378 37,772 15,338 354,254 903,433

743,368 43,478 21,032 587,837 2,048,593

110,461 26,363 6,469 278,657 939,756

293,814 53,868 13,006 454,496 1,973,031

1,549,517 202,201 39,722 1,119,201 6,577,502

1,915,749 4,896,332 4,052,546

175,849 522,582 418,823

304,950 847,933 560,108

150,286 459,328 399,122

283,491 798,511 688,756

149,484 392,458 332,219

288,182 581,382 506,110

563,100 1,293,597 1,147,006

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey; calculations by New Strategist

22 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 11. Information and consumer electronics: Market shares by income, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by before-tax income group of consumer units, 2006)

Share of total consumer units Share of total before-tax income Share of total spending

total consumer units 100.0% 100.0 100.0

under $20,000 21.9% 3.9 9.4

$20,000– $39,999 23.2% 11.3 15.3

$40,000– $49,999 9.6% 7.1 7.9

$50,000– $69,999 14.9% 14.6 15.4

$70,000– $79,999 5.9% 7.2 6.9

$80,000– $99,999 8.6% 12.6 11.7

$100,000 or more 15.9% 43.2 33.0

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

11.6 8.2 13.7 9.6 11.4 8.1

17.6 12.5 19.9 17.6 17.2 15.9

9.2 7.6 10.0 9.6 9.7 9.3

16.5 13.7 16.4 18.1 16.8 17.3

7.0 7.6 6.7 7.6 7.1 7.6

11.3 12.1 10.8 11.6 10.1 12.5

26.9 38.2 22.6 25.9 27.8 29.2

100.0

7.3

10.4

8.7

14.1

8.6

14.4

36.6

100.0

8.5

Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

10.4 2.8 12.0 11.1

12.3 16.0 10.7 14.7 16.9

6.9 9.2 9.3 9.9 8.3

16.6 17.0 8.1 9.5 15.5

7.2 11.1 11.0 7.5 6.0

13.0 10.4 10.7 7.9 11.6

35.4 26.0 48.3 38.7 30.6

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

13.1 12.0 5.9 20.7 9.2 4.8

17.6 11.3 8.8 26.5 12.5 11.2

9.6 6.1 4.7 8.9 8.0 7.2

16.1 14.9 16.8 14.9 15.4 17.3

7.1 8.5 8.3 5.8 10.3 6.1

11.1 4.9 15.4 7.8 12.4 11.8

25.5 42.4 40.1 15.4 32.2 41.7

100.0

9.4

17.2

9.2

16.4

8.7

12.0

27.1

100.0

13.9

10.2

9.6

15.0

4.4

9.7

37.3

100.0

15.9

20.5

9.6

16.2

6.6

10.1

21.1

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

7.4 5.7 7.0 14.9 6.8

12.3 9.9 15.1 17.4 12.9

13.1 8.8 12.5 8.6 5.8

18.4 10.1 17.2 14.3 13.2

2.7 6.1 5.3 6.8 6.1

7.3 12.5 10.6 11.0 12.7

38.4 47.0 32.5 27.1 42.4

100.0 100.0 100.0

9.2 10.7 10.3

15.9 17.3 13.8

7.8 9.4 9.8

14.8 16.3 17.0

7.8 8.0 8.2

15.0 11.9 12.5

29.4 26.4 28.3

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey; calculations by New Strategist

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 23

Table 12. Information and consumer electronics:

Average spending by high-income consumer units, 2006 (average annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by before-tax income of consumer units with high incomes, 2006)

Number of consumer units (in 000s) Number of persons per consumer unit Average before-tax income of consumer units Average spending of consumer units, total Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units 118,843 2.5 $60,533.00 48,398.32

$100,000 or more 18,915 3.2 $164,452.00 100,386.31

$100,000– $119,999 6,300 3.2 $108,417.00 78,128.93

$120,000– $149,999 5,357 3.1 $132,682.00 88,646.65

$150,000 or more 7,258 3.2 $236,545.00 128,681.21

2,532.01

4,274.77

53.55 539.04 523.78 34.03 176.44 21.70 142.59 6.39 1.60 1.64 48.66 14.55 4.12 17.41 21.16 17.88 32.56 31.44 6.45 541.95 33.91 3.62 1.03 34.70 130.39 16.12 41.20 34.10

128.54 763.78 850.98 59.37 324.25 49.86 317.37 10.43 4.86 3.99 93.62 23.31 10.98 43.91 20.43 36.16 85.21 53.49 15.13 718.68 81.92 10.69 2.10 59.17 347.74 29.77 68.39 60.64

3,856.99 92.05 706.31 797.79 47.79 291.40 55.33 316.45 10.41 4.11 2.61 75.37 20.15 7.02 27.63 18.62 29.82 63.48 51.14 5.68 652.77 58.16 7.92 1.12 58.32 317.90 26.27 63.32 48.05

4,081.03 115.20 757.33 864.75 62.84 321.88 33.16 311.92 10.10 3.65 3.38 88.63 23.87 6.71 46.19 23.05 31.26 92.44 51.50 15.00 686.09 89.56 9.01 0.95 40.83 228.34 18.95 74.28 70.16

4,781.02 170.06 818.43 886.98 66.85 354.53 57.43 322.18 10.69 6.39 5.65 113.14 25.66 17.57 56.37 20.06 45.27 98.74 57.00 23.43 799.96 96.90 14.33 3.78 74.07 461.77 40.80 68.45 64.53

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

24 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 13. Information and consumer electronics:

Indexed spending by high-income consumer units, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units with high incomes on information and consumer electronics, by before-tax income of consumer unit, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units)

Average spending of consumer units, total Average spending of consumer units, index Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units $48,398 100

$100,000 or more $100,386 207

$100,000– $119,999 $78,129 161

$120,000– $149,999 $88,647 183

$150,000 or more $128,681 266

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

169 240 142 162 174 184 230 223 163 304 243 192 160 267 252 97 202 262 170 235 133 242 295 204 171 267 185 166 178

152 172 131 152 140 165 255 222 163 257 159 155 138 170 159 88 167 195 163 88 120 172 219 109 168 244 163 154 141

161 215 140 165 185 182 153 219 158 228 206 182 164 163 265 109 175 284 164 233 127 264 249 92 118 175 118 180 206

189 318 152 169 196 201 265 226 167 399 345 233 176 426 324 95 253 303 181 363 148 286 396 367 213 354 253 166 189

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 25

Table 14. Information and consumer electronics:

Total spending by high-income consumer units, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by before-tax income group of consumer units with high incomes, 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands)

Number of consumer units Total spending of all consumer units Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units 118,843 $5,751,801,544

$100,000 or more 18,915 $1,898,807,054

$100,000– $119,999 6,300 $492,212,259

$120,000– $149,999 5,357 $474,880,104

$150,000 or more 7,258 $933,968,222

300,911,664 6,364,043 64,061,131 62,247,587 4,044,227

80,857,275 2,431,334 14,446,899 16,096,287 1,122,984

24,299,037 579,915 4,449,753 5,026,077 301,077

21,862,078 617,126 4,057,017 4,632,466 336,634

34,700,643 1,234,295 5,940,165 6,437,701 485,197

20,968,659

6,133,189

1,835,820

1,724,311

2,573,179

2,578,893

943,102

348,579

177,638

416,827

16,945,823 759,407 190,149 194,903 5,782,900 1,729,166 489,633 2,069,057 2,514,718 2,124,913 3,869,528 3,736,424 766,537 64,406,964 4,029,966 430,212 122,408 4,123,852 15,495,939 1,915,749 4,896,332 4,052,546

6,003,054 197,283 91,927 75,471 1,770,822 440,909 207,687 830,558 386,433 683,966 1,611,747 1,011,763 286,184 13,593,832 1,549,517 202,201 39,722 1,119,201 6,577,502 563,100 1,293,597 1,147,006

1,993,635 65,583 25,893 16,443 474,831 126,945 44,226 174,069 117,306 187,866 399,924 322,182 35,784 4,112,451 366,408 49,896 7,056 367,416 2,002,770 165,501 398,916 302,715

1,670,955 54,106 19,553 18,107 474,791 127,872 35,945 247,440 123,479 167,460 495,201 275,886 80,355 3,675,384 479,773 48,267 5,089 218,726 1,223,217 101,515 397,918 375,847

2,338,382 77,588 46,379 41,008 821,170 186,240 127,523 409,133 145,595 328,570 716,655 413,706 170,055 5,806,110 703,300 104,007 27,435 537,600 3,351,527 296,126 496,810 468,359

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

26 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 15. Information and consumer electronics:

Market shares by high-income consumer units, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by before-tax income group of consumer units with high incomes, 2006)

Share of total consumer units Share of total before-tax income Share of total spending

total consumer units 100.0% 100.0 100.0

$100,000 or more 15.9% 43.2 33.0

$100,000– $119,999 5.3% 9.5 8.6

$120,000– $149,999 4.5% 9.9 8.3

$150,000 or more 6.1% 23.9 16.2

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

26.9 38.2 22.6 25.9

8.1 9.1 6.9 8.1

7.3 9.7 6.3 7.4

11.5 19.4 9.3 10.3

Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

27.8 29.2 36.6 35.4 26.0 48.3 38.7 30.6 25.5 42.4 40.1 15.4 32.2 41.7 27.1 37.3 21.1 38.4 47.0 32.5 27.1 42.4 29.4 26.4 28.3

7.4 8.8 13.5 11.8 8.6 13.6 8.4 8.2 7.3 9.0 8.4 4.7 8.8 10.3 8.6 4.7 6.4 9.1 11.6 5.8 8.9 12.9 8.6 8.1 7.5

8.3 8.2 6.9 9.9 7.1 10.3 9.3 8.2 7.4 7.3 12.0 4.9 7.9 12.8 7.4 10.5 5.7 11.9 11.2 4.2 5.3 7.9 5.3 8.1 9.3

12.0 12.3 16.2 13.8 10.2 24.4 21.0 14.2 10.8 26.0 19.8 5.8 15.5 18.5 11.1 22.2 9.0 17.5 24.2 22.4 13.0 21.6 15.5 10.1 11.6

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 27

Table 16. Information and consumer electronics: Average spending by household type, 2006 (average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics, by type of consumer unit, 2006)

total consumer units

total married couples

married couples, no children

118,843

59,428

2.5

3.2

$60,533.00

married couples with children total

oldest child under 6

oldest child 6 to 17

oldest child 18 or older

single parent, at least one child <18

single person

25,306

29,381

5,763

15,166

8,452

7,225

35,221

2.0

3.9

3.5

4.1

3.9

2.9

1.0

$82,195.00

$73,032.00

$89,351.00

$81,372.00

$89,792.00

$93,999.00

$34,852.00

$31,557.00

48,398.32

62,503.18

55,631.38

68,354.25

63,415.54

69,157.47

70,233.96

35,490.95

29,374.35

2,532.01

3,071.53

2,701.73

3,353.66

2,924.80

3,394.99

3,569.32

2,321.96

1,688.12

53.55

67.02

70.15

68.32

55.85

76.38

62.34

38.97

41.25

Cable service and community antenna

539.04

625.71

609.37

636.59

585.85

629.50

683.91

497.37

403.35

Cellular phone service

523.78

637.38

486.16

749.84

620.90

732.62

868.68

579.20

283.29

34.03

36.55

29.12

43.38

27.39

47.77

46.39

34.94

27.78

176.44

222.85

203.84

241.23

216.29

249.39

243.59

150.67

111.49

Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use

21.70

28.74

24.61

31.51

26.02

32.27

33.91

12.67

13.37

Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

Number of consumer units (in 000s) Number of persons per CU Average before-tax income of CU Average spending of CU, total Information and consumer electronics Books

Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services

142.59

174.30

138.19

201.79

151.86

201.70

236.00

85.31

101.93

Film

6.39

8.32

7.90

8.52

7.23

8.85

8.79

7.31

3.92

Global positioning services

1.60

2.51

3.52

1.63

0.87

2.22

1.09

0.64

0.61

Internet services away from home

1.64

1.67

1.53

1.64

1.08

1.36

2.52

3.09

0.95

Newspaper and magazine subscriptions

48.66

65.42

84.08

52.54

35.24

50.95

67.19

14.54

36.95

Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription

14.55

16.34

17.01

16.24

13.77

16.89

16.78

9.79

12.94

4.12

5.48

3.91

7.17

8.99

8.52

3.52

2.02

3.33

Personal digital audio players

17.41

23.92

13.36

33.06

20.79

39.55

29.77

17.06

7.71

Phone cards

21.16

20.71

14.52

20.50

19.03

21.75

19.28

26.49

13.08

Photo processing

17.88

24.79

22.01

27.97

36.32

28.50

21.32

11.56

9.87

Photographic equipment

32.56

44.44

33.73

54.71

37.79

55.31

65.17

14.61

19.52

Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

31.44

38.53

25.04

50.25

36.32

60.01

42.22

35.71

16.65

6.45

8.26

7.96

8.88

13.27

8.12

7.24

1.53

5.36

541.95

641.26

594.41

667.15

554.22

670.28

738.53

545.92

387.22

Personal digital assistants

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories

33.91

41.82

38.28

46.02

49.02

55.52

24.77

21.25

23.91

Streaming and downloading audio

3.62

4.32

2.83

5.70

3.88

7.18

4.29

2.67

2.76

Streaming and downloading video

1.03

1.03

0.67

1.30

0.32

1.36

1.84

2.11

0.70

34.70

43.76

39.02

46.56

58.55

49.40

32.86

21.04

24.54

81.14

77.29

Telephones and answering machines Television sets

130.39

176.50

160.53

186.33

236.07

176.29

170.43

Video cassette recorders and video disc players

16.12

19.05

19.09

19.87

23.10

21.35

15.02

11.60

11.01

Video cassettes, tapes, and discs

41.20

47.54

34.11

57.75

56.43

57.40

59.27

43.10

30.32

Video game hardware and software

34.10

43.31

16.78

67.21

28.35

84.55

62.60

49.65

17.02

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

28 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 17. Information and consumer electronics: Indexed spending by household type, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics by type of consumer unit, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units)

total consumer units

total married couples

married couples, no children

Average spending of CU, total

married couples with children total

oldest child under 6

oldest child 6 to 17

oldest child 18 or older

single parent, at least one child <18

single person

$48,398

$62,503

$55,631

$68,354

$63,416

$69,157

$70,234

$35,491

29,374

Average spending of CU, index

100

129

115

141

131

143

145

73

61

Information and consumer electronics

100

121

107

132

116

134

141

92

67

Books

100

125

131

128

104

143

116

73

77

Cable service and community antenna

100

116

113

118

109

117

127

92

75

Cellular phone service

100

122

93

143

119

140

166

111

54

Compact discs, records, and audio tapes

100

107

86

127

80

140

136

103

82

Computer information services

100

126

116

137

123

141

138

85

63

Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use

100

132

113

145

120

149

156

58

62

Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100

122

97

142

107

141

166

60

71

Film

100

130

124

133

113

138

138

114

61

Global positioning services

100

157

220

102

54

139

68

40

38

Internet services away from home

100

102

93

100

66

83

154

188

58

Newspaper and magazine subscriptions

100

134

173

108

72

105

138

30

76

Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription

100

112

117

112

95

116

115

67

89

Personal digital assistants

100

133

95

174

218

207

85

49

81

Personal digital audio players

100

137

77

190

119

227

171

98

44

Phone cards

100

98

69

97

90

103

91

125

62

Photo processing

100

139

123

156

203

159

119

65

55

Photographic equipment

100

136

104

168

116

170

200

45

60

Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100

123

80

160

116

191

134

114

53

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use

100

128

123

138

206

126

112

24

83

Residential telephone service and pay phones

100

118

110

123

102

124

136

101

71

Sound components, equipment, and accessories

100

123

113

136

145

164

73

63

71

Streaming and downloading audio

100

119

78

157

107

198

119

74

76

Streaming and downloading video

100

100

65

126

31

132

179

205

68

Telephones and answering machines

100

126

112

134

169

142

95

61

71

Television sets

100

135

123

143

181

135

131

62

59

Video cassette recorders and video disc players

100

118

118

123

143

132

93

72

68

Video cassettes, tapes, and discs

100

115

83

140

137

139

144

105

74

Video game hardware and software

100

127

49

197

83

248

184

146

50

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 29

Table 18. Information and consumer electronics: Total spending by household type, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by consumer unit (CU) type, 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands)

Number of consumer units Total spending of all CUs Information and consumer electronics

total consumer units 118,843

total married couples 59,428

married couples, no children 25,306

married couples with children total 29,381

$5,751,801,544 $3,714,438,981 $1,407,807,702 $2,008,316,219

single parent, at least one child <18 7,225

oldest child 6 to 17 15,166

oldest child 18 or older 8,452

single person 35,221

$365,463,757 $1,048,842,190

$593,617,430

$256,422,114 $1,034,593,981

68,369,979

98,533,884

16,855,622

51,488,418

30,167,893

16,776,161

6,364,043

3,982,865

1,775,216

2,007,310

321,864

1,158,379

526,898

281,558

1,452,866

Cable service, community antenna

64,061,131

37,184,694

15,420,717

18,703,651

3,376,254

9,546,997

5,780,407

3,593,498

14,206,390

Cellular phone service

62,247,587

37,878,219

12,302,765

22,031,049

3,578,247

11,110,915

7,342,083

4,184,720

9,977,757

4,044,227

2,172,093

736,911

1,274,548

157,849

724,480

392,088

252,442

978,439

20,968,659

13,243,530

5,158,375

7,087,579

1,246,479

3,782,249

2,058,823

1,088,591

3,926,789

Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use

2,578,893

1,707,961

622,781

925,795

149,953

489,407

286,607

91,541

470,905

Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

Books

Compact discs, records, audio tapes Computer information services

300,911,664 182,534,885

oldest child under 6 5,763

59,457,275

16,945,823

10,358,300

3,497,036

5,928,792

875,169

3,058,982

1,994,672

616,365

3,590,077

Film

759,407

494,441

199,917

250,326

41,666

134,219

74,293

52,815

138,066

Global positioning services

190,149

149,164

89,077

47,891

5,014

33,669

9,213

4,624

21,485

Internet services away from home

194,903

99,245

38,718

48,185

6,224

20,626

21,299

22,325

33,460

Newspaper and magazine subscriptions

5,782,900

3,887,780

2,127,728

1,543,678

203,088

772,708

567,890

105,052

1,301,416

Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription

1,729,166

971,054

430,455

477,147

79,357

256,154

141,825

70,733

455,760

489,633

325,665

98,946

210,662

51,809

129,214

29,751

14,595

117,286

Personal digital audio players

2,069,057

1,421,518

338,088

971,336

119,813

599,815

251,616

123,259

271,554

Phone cards

2,514,718

1,230,754

367,443

602,311

109,670

329,861

162,955

191,390

460,691

Photo processing

2,124,913

1,473,220

556,985

821,787

209,312

432,231

180,197

83,521

347,631

Photographic equipment

3,869,528

2,640,980

853,571

1,607,435

217,784

838,831

550,817

105,557

687,514

Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

3,736,424

2,289,761

633,662

1,476,395

209,312

910,112

356,843

258,005

586,430

766,537

490,875

201,436

260,903

76,475

123,148

61,192

11,054

188,785

64,406,964

38,108,799

15,042,139

19,601,534

3,193,970

10,165,466

6,242,056

3,944,272

13,638,276

Personal digital assistants

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories

4,029,966

2,485,279

968,714

1,352,114

282,502

842,016

209,356

153,531

842,134

Streaming and downloading audio

430,212

256,729

71,616

167,472

22,360

108,892

36,259

19,291

97,210

Streaming and downloading video

122,408

61,211

16,955

38,195

1,844

20,626

15,552

15,245

24,655

4,123,852

2,600,569

987,440

1,367,979

337,424

749,200

277,733

152,014

864,323

15,495,939

10,489,042

4,062,372

5,474,562

1,360,471

2,673,614

1,440,474

586,237

2,722,231

Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players

1,915,749

1,132,103

483,092

583,800

133,125

323,794

126,949

83,810

387,783

Video cassettes, tapes, and discs

4,896,332

2,825,207

863,188

1,696,753

325,206

870,528

500,950

311,398

1,067,901

Video game hardware and software

4,052,546

2,573,827

424,635

1,974,697

163,381

1,282,285

529,095

358,721

599,461

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

30 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 19. Information and consumer electronics: Market shares by household type, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by types of consumer units, 2006)

total consumer units

total married couples

married couples, no children

married couples with children oldest child under 6

total

oldest child 6 to 17

oldest child 18 or older 7.1%

single parent, at least one child <18

single person

Share of total consumer units

100.0%

50.0%

21.3%

24.7%

4.8%

12.8%

6.1%

29.6%

Share of total before-tax income

100.0

67.9

25.7

36.5

6.5

18.9

11.0

3.5

15.5

Share of total spending

100.0

64.6

24.5

34.9

6.4

18.2

10.3

4.5

18.0

Information and consumer electronics

100.0

60.7

22.7

32.7

5.6

17.1

10.0

5.6

19.8

Books

100.0

62.6

27.9

31.5

5.1

18.2

8.3

4.4

22.8

Cable service and community antenna

100.0

58.0

24.1

29.2

5.3

14.9

9.0

5.6

22.2

Cellular phone service

100.0

60.9

19.8

35.4

5.7

17.8

11.8

6.7

16.0

Compact discs, records, and audio tapes

100.0

53.7

18.2

31.5

3.9

17.9

9.7

6.2

24.2

Computer information services

100.0

63.2

24.6

33.8

5.9

18.0

9.8

5.2

18.7

Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use

100.0

66.2

24.1

35.9

5.8

19.0

11.1

3.5

18.3

Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100.0

61.1

20.6

35.0

5.2

18.1

11.8

3.6

21.2

Film

100.0

65.1

26.3

33.0

5.5

17.7

9.8

7.0

18.2

Global positioning services

100.0

78.4

46.8

25.2

2.6

17.7

4.8

2.4

11.3

Internet services away from home

100.0

50.9

19.9

24.7

3.2

10.6

10.9

11.5

17.2

Newspaper and magazine subscriptions

100.0

67.2

36.8

26.7

3.5

13.4

9.8

1.8

22.5

Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription

100.0

56.2

24.9

27.6

4.6

14.8

8.2

4.1

26.4

Personal digital assistants

100.0

66.5

20.2

43.0

10.6

26.4

6.1

3.0

24.0

Personal digital audio players

100.0

68.7

16.3

46.9

5.8

29.0

12.2

6.0

13.1

Phone cards

100.0

48.9

14.6

24.0

4.4

13.1

6.5

7.6

18.3

Photo processing

100.0

69.3

26.2

38.7

9.9

20.3

8.5

3.9

16.4

Photographic equipment

100.0

68.3

22.1

41.5

5.6

21.7

14.2

2.7

17.8

Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100.0

61.3

17.0

39.5

5.6

24.4

9.6

6.9

15.7

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use

100.0

64.0

26.3

34.0

10.0

16.1

8.0

1.4

24.6

Residential telephone service and pay phones

100.0

59.2

23.4

30.4

5.0

15.8

9.7

6.1

21.2

Sound components, equipment, and accessories

100.0

61.7

24.0

33.6

7.0

20.9

5.2

3.8

20.9

Streaming and downloading audio

100.0

59.7

16.6

38.9

5.2

25.3

8.4

4.5

22.6

Streaming and downloading video

100.0

50.0

13.9

31.2

1.5

16.8

12.7

12.5

20.1

Telephones and answering machines

100.0

63.1

23.9

33.2

8.2

18.2

6.7

3.7

21.0

Television sets

100.0

67.7

26.2

35.3

8.8

17.3

9.3

3.8

17.6

Video cassette recorders and video disc players

100.0

59.1

25.2

30.5

6.9

16.9

6.6

4.4

20.2

Video cassettes, tapes, and discs

100.0

57.7

17.6

34.7

6.6

17.8

10.2

6.4

21.8

Video game hardware and software

100.0

63.5

10.5

48.7

4.0

31.6

13.1

8.9

14.8

Note: Market shares by type of consumer unit will not add to total because not all types of consumer units are shown. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 31

Table 20. Information and consumer electronics:

Average spending by race and Hispanic origin, 2006 (average annual spending of consumer units on information and consumer electronics, by race and Hispanic origin of consumer unit reference person, 2006)

Number of consumer units (in 000s) Number of persons per consumer unit Average before-tax income of consumer units Average spending of consumer units, total Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets VCRs and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units 118,843 2.5 $60,533.00 48,398.32

Asian 4,098 2.7 $75,865.00 57,544.40

black 14,265 2.6 $41,142.00 34,583.43

Hispanic 13,664 3.2 $48,108.00 43,053.47

non-Hispanic white and other 91,049 2.3 $65,417.00 51,350.56

2,532.01 53.55 539.04

2,680.32 55.15 485.83

2,176.93 19.56 531.98

2,354.52 22.38 431.66

2,613.87 63.48 556.23

523.78 34.03 176.44 21.70 142.59 6.39 1.60 1.64 48.66 14.55 4.12 17.41 21.16 17.88 32.56 31.44 6.45 541.95 33.91 3.62 1.03 34.70 130.39 16.12 41.20 34.10

642.39 36.85 219.54 20.14 203.62 3.22 1.55 4.20 34.67 9.92 6.77 17.77 50.81 15.56 32.42 33.67 4.08 483.13 34.65 1.76 0.55 22.01 166.68 20.78 33.10 39.50

490.67 26.35 107.61 13.62 69.09 3.43 0.33 0.69 16.38 9.57 4.48 5.30 23.43 6.21 8.93 17.21 1.40 640.19 20.95 0.96 0.65 22.41 63.38 9.18 32.38 30.59

629.51 31.38 127.39 14.95 137.02 5.88 0.37 1.54 13.78 7.14 3.66 13.13 60.90 11.25 31.55 29.02 7.79 511.19 38.64 2.52 0.58 17.02 124.62 14.80 34.55 30.30

513.17 35.65 194.49 23.95 154.73 6.93 1.98 1.81 58.90 16.44 4.13 19.96 14.85 20.71 36.37 34.00 7.04 531.29 35.21 4.20 1.16 39.40 141.56 17.46 43.58 35.19

Note: “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian column), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tables from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

32 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 21. Information and consumer electronics:

Indexed spending by race and Hispanic origin, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units on information and consumer electronics by race and Hispanic origin of consumer unit reference person, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units)

Average spending of consumer units, total Average spending of consumer units, index Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units $48,398 100

Asian $57,544 119

black $34,583 71

Hispanic $43,053 89

non-Hispanic white and other $51,351 106

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

106 103 90 123 108 124 93 143 50 97 256 71 68 164 102 240 87 100 107 63 89 102 49 53 63 128 129 80 116

86 37 99 94 77 61 63 48 54 21 42 34 66 109 30 111 35 27 55 22 118 62 27 63 65 49 57 79 90

93 42 80 120 92 72 69 96 92 23 94 28 49 89 75 288 63 97 92 121 94 114 70 56 49 96 92 84 89

103 119 103 98 105 110 110 109 108 124 110 121 113 100 115 70 116 112 108 109 98 104 116 113 114 109 108 106 103

Note: “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian column), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 33

Table 22. Information and consumer electronics:

Total spending by race and Hispanic origin, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by consumer unit race and Hispanic origin groups, 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands)

Number of consumer units Total spending of all consumer units Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units 118,843 $5,751,801,544

Asian 4,098 $235,816,951

black 14,265 $493,332,629

Hispanic 13,664 $588,282,614

non-Hispanic white and other 91,049 $4,675,417,137

300,911,664 6,364,043 64,061,131 62,247,587 4,044,227

10,983,951 226,005 1,990,931 2,632,514 151,011

31,053,906 279,023 7,588,695 6,999,408 375,883

32,172,161 305,800 5,898,202 8,601,625 428,776

237,990,250 5,779,791 50,644,185 46,723,615 3,245,897

20,968,659

899,675

1,535,057

1,740,657

17,708,120

2,578,893

82,534

194,289

204,277

2,180,624

16,945,823 759,407 190,149 194,903 5,782,900 1,729,166 489,633 2,069,057 2,514,718 2,124,913 3,869,528 3,736,424 766,537 64,406,964 4,029,966 430,212 122,408 4,123,852 15,495,939 1,915,749 4,896,332 4,052,546

834,435 13,196 6,352 17,212 142,078 40,652 27,743 72,821 208,219 63,765 132,857 137,980 16,720 1,979,867 141,996 7,212 2,254 90,197 683,055 85,156 135,644 161,871

985,569 48,929 4,707 9,843 233,661 136,516 63,907 75,605 334,229 88,586 127,386 245,501 19,971 9,132,310 298,852 13,694 9,272 319,679 904,116 130,953 461,901 436,366

1,872,241 80,344 5,056 21,043 188,290 97,561 50,010 179,408 832,138 153,720 431,099 396,529 106,443 6,984,900 527,977 34,433 7,925 232,561 1,702,808 202,227 472,091 414,019

14,088,012 630,970 180,277 164,799 5,362,786 1,496,846 376,032 1,817,338 1,352,078 1,885,625 3,311,452 3,095,666 640,985 48,373,423 3,205,835 382,406 105,617 3,587,331 12,888,896 1,589,716 3,967,915 3,204,014

Note: “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian column), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

34 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 23. Information and consumer electronics:

Market shares by race and Hispanic origin, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by consumer unit race and Hispanic origin groups, 2006)

Share of total consumer units Share of total before-tax income Share of total spending

total consumer units 100.0% 100.0 100.0

Asian 3.4% 4.3 4.1

black 12.0% 8.2 8.6

Hispanic 11.5% 9.1 10.2

non-Hispanic white and other 76.6% 82.8 81.3

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

3.7 3.6 3.1 4.2

10.3 4.4 11.8 11.2

10.7 4.8 9.2 13.8

79.1 90.8 79.1 75.1

Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

3.7 4.3 3.2 4.9 1.7 3.3 8.8 2.5 2.4 5.7 3.5 8.3 3.0 3.4 3.7 2.2 3.1 3.5 1.7 1.8 2.2 4.4 4.4 2.8 4.0

9.3 7.3 7.5 5.8 6.4 2.5 5.1 4.0 7.9 13.1 3.7 13.3 4.2 3.3 6.6 2.6 14.2 7.4 3.2 7.6 7.8 5.8 6.8 9.4 10.8

10.6 8.3 7.9 11.0 10.6 2.7 10.8 3.3 5.6 10.2 8.7 33.1 7.2 11.1 10.6 13.9 10.8 13.1 8.0 6.5 5.6 11.0 10.6 9.6 10.2

80.3 84.5 84.6 83.1 83.1 94.8 84.6 92.7 86.6 76.8 87.8 53.8 88.7 85.6 82.9 83.6 75.1 79.5 88.9 86.3 87.0 83.2 83.0 81.0 79.1

Note: “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian column), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Numbers will not add to total because not all races are shown. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 35

Table 24. Information and consumer electronics: Average spending by region, 2006 (average annual spending of consumer units on information and consumer electronics, by region in which consumer unit lives, 2006)

Number of consumer units (in 000s) Number of persons per consumer unit Average before-tax income of consumer units Average spending of consumer units, total Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets VCRs and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units 118,843 2.5 $60,533.00 48,398.32

Northeast 22,757 2.4 $64,232.00 49,164.09

Midwest 27,206 2.4 $57,980.00 45,084.61

South 42,457 2.5 $56,190.00 44,501.24

West 26,423 2.6 $66,955.00 57,485.71

2,532.01 53.55 539.04 523.78 34.03 176.44

2,515.16 57.62 594.43 469.99 34.02 180.14

2,365.12 54.23 485.41 484.27 32.19 164.38

2,507.72 37.31 566.35 558.74 28.47 159.49

2,758.00 75.43 502.66 554.62 44.85 212.91

21.70 142.59 6.39 1.60 1.64 48.66 14.55 4.12 17.41 21.16 17.88 32.56 31.44 6.45 541.95 33.91 3.62 1.03 34.70 130.39 16.12 41.20 34.10

15.51 126.66 7.67 1.67 1.71 53.22 20.96 2.36 14.87 21.75 21.22 29.53 23.33 8.41 558.91 32.30 3.89 1.55 39.78 117.93 12.48 32.45 30.80

21.16 133.43 6.38 2.26 1.25 57.81 16.79 3.70 17.18 14.66 19.70 31.70 31.80 5.91 498.91 29.89 3.33 1.05 40.78 115.86 16.34 41.88 32.87

16.23 125.66 6.13 1.66 1.40 36.45 10.97 4.16 14.00 19.68 12.51 24.56 27.14 4.97 588.76 22.03 2.59 0.88 28.94 124.33 13.12 38.06 33.13

36.37 192.94 5.74 0.75 2.39 54.94 12.48 6.02 25.32 29.71 21.75 48.92 44.96 7.71 496.42 59.19 5.35 0.80 33.29 165.81 23.84 53.08 39.75

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

36 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 25. Information and consumer electronics: Indexed spending by region, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units on information and consumer electronics by region in which consumer unit lives, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units)

Average spending of consumer units, total Average spending of consumer units, index Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units $48,398 100

Northeast $49,164 102

Midwest $45,085 93

South $44,501 92

West $57,486 119

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

99 108 110 90 100 102 71 89 120 104 104 109 144 57 85 103 119 91 74 130 103 95 107 150 115 90 77 79 90

93 101 90 92 95 93 98 94 100 141 76 119 115 90 99 69 110 97 101 92 92 88 92 102 118 89 101 102 96

99 70 105 107 84 90 75 88 96 104 85 75 75 101 80 93 70 75 86 77 109 65 72 85 83 95 81 92 97

109 141 93 106 132 121 168 135 90 47 146 113 86 146 145 140 122 150 143 120 92 175 148 78 96 127 148 129 117

Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 37

Table 26. Information and consumer electronics: Total spending by region, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by region in which consumer unit lives, 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands)

Number of consumer units Total spending of all consumer units Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total consumer units 118,843 $5,751,801,544

Northeast 22,757 $1,118,827,196

Midwest 27,206 $1,226,571,900

South 42,457 $1,889,389,147

West 26,423 $1,518,944,915

300,911,664 6,364,043 64,061,131 62,247,587 4,044,227 20,968,659

57,237,496 1,311,258 13,527,444 10,695,562 774,193 4,099,446

64,345,455 1,475,381 13,206,064 13,175,050 875,761 4,472,122

106,470,268 1,584,071 24,045,522 23,722,424 1,208,751 6,771,467

72,874,634 1,993,087 13,281,785 14,654,724 1,185,072 5,625,721

2,578,893

352,961

575,679

689,077

961,005

16,945,823

2,882,402

759,407 190,149 194,903 5,782,900 1,729,166 489,633 2,069,057 2,514,718 2,124,913 3,869,528 3,736,424 766,537 64,406,964 4,029,966 430,212 122,408 4,123,852 15,495,939 1,915,749 4,896,332 4,052,546

174,546 38,004 38,914 1,211,128 476,987 53,707 338,397 494,965 482,904 672,014 530,921 191,386 12,719,115 735,051 88,525 35,273 905,273 2,683,733 284,007 738,465 700,916

3,630,097 173,574 61,486 34,008 1,572,779 456,789 100,662 467,399 398,840 535,958 862,430 865,151 160,787 13,573,345 813,187 90,596 28,566 1,109,461 3,152,087 444,546 1,139,387 894,261

5,335,147 260,261 70,479 59,440 1,547,558 465,753 176,621 594,398 835,554 531,137 1,042,744 1,152,283 211,011 24,996,983 935,328 109,964 37,362 1,228,706 5,278,679 557,036 1,615,913 1,406,600

5,098,054 151,668 19,817 63,151 1,451,680 329,759 159,066 669,030 785,027 574,700 1,292,613 1,187,978 203,721 13,116,906 1,563,977 141,363 21,138 879,622 4,381,198 629,924 1,402,533 1,050,314

Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

38 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 27. Information and consumer electronics: Market shares by region, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by consumer units by region of residence, 2006)

Share of total consumer units Share of total before-tax income Share of total spending

total consumer units 100.0% 100.0 100.0

Northeast 19.1% 20.3 19.5

Midwest 22.9% 21.9 21.3

South 35.7% 33.2 32.8

West 22.2% 24.6 26.4

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

19.0 20.6 21.1 17.2 19.1 19.6 13.7

21.4 23.2 20.6 21.2 21.7 21.3 22.3

35.4 24.9 37.5 38.1 29.9 32.3 26.7

24.2 31.3 20.7 23.5 29.3 26.8 37.3

Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

17.0 23.0 20.0 20.0 20.9 27.6 11.0 16.4 19.7 22.7 17.4 14.2 25.0 19.7 18.2 20.6 28.8 22.0 17.3 14.8 15.1 17.3

21.4 22.9 32.3 17.4 27.2 26.4 20.6 22.6 15.9 25.2 22.3 23.2 21.0 21.1 20.2 21.1 23.3 26.9 20.3 23.2 23.3 22.1

31.5 34.3 37.1 30.5 26.8 26.9 36.1 28.7 33.2 25.0 26.9 30.8 27.5 38.8 23.2 25.6 30.5 29.8 34.1 29.1 33.0 34.7

30.1 20.0 10.4 32.4 25.1 19.1 32.5 32.3 31.2 27.0 33.4 31.8 26.6 20.4 38.8 32.9 17.3 21.3 28.3 32.9 28.6 25.9

Note: Numbers may not add to total because of rounding. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 39

Table 28. Information and consumer electronics: Average spending by education, 2006 (average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics, by education of consumer unit reference person, 2006) college graduate total consumer units Number of consumer units (in 000s) 118,843 Number of persons per CU 2.5 Average before-tax income of CU $60,533.00 Average spending of CU, total 48,398.32 Information and consumer electronics 2,532.01 Books 53.55 Cable service and community antenna 539.04 Cellular phone service 523.78 Compact discs, records, and audio tapes 34.03 Computer information services 176.44 Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use 21.70 Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use 142.59 Film 6.39 Global positioning services 1.60 Internet services away from home 1.64 Newspaper and magazine subscriptions 48.66 Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription 14.55 Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

less than high school graduate 17,747 2.6 $31,775.00 28,760.01

high school graduate 31,134 2.5 $45,962.00 39,304.72

some college 25,135 2.4 $53,809.00 45,891.39

associate’s degree 11,582 2.5 $67,353.00 52,272.22

master’s, bachelor’s professional, degree doctorate 21,277 11,967 2.4 2.4 $82,860.00 $108,918.00 63,863.98 74,905.99

total 33,244 2.4 $92,241.00 67,835.51

1,666.17 12.17 419.96 329.75 16.00 65.80

2,190.48 24.88 514.59 475.65 26.31 130.16

2,519.73 45.75 536.23 555.21 36.31 182.51

2,871.53 56.21 590.30 616.67 41.50 210.83

3,204.19 107.46 609.76 616.31 46.55 262.28

3,144.31 89.82 613.67 616.34 44.82 253.14

3,310.64 138.82 602.82 616.26 49.61 278.54

9.08

10.52

21.65

27.35

36.97

36.17

38.40

48.40 3.40 0.12 0.46 22.67

96.72 5.69 1.40 0.93 38.43

149.39 7.41 1.45 1.65 41.82

179.26 7.35 3.08 0.83 50.43

217.91 7.54 2.17 3.22 76.67

207.90 6.88 1.86 3.64 63.51

235.71 8.72 2.72 2.49 100.08

8.05

4.12 17.41 21.16 17.88 32.56

0.50 4.59 41.21 9.52 11.55

13.08 2.09 10.16 18.92 12.06 23.64

15.73 3.87 20.12 17.90 14.90 29.08

14.85 4.27 23.77 18.56 22.23 38.45

18.41 8.10 26.78 15.92 28.52 52.72

17.77 8.52 25.14 13.98 27.33 55.94

19.55 7.35 29.70 19.38 30.64 47.00

31.44

15.24

24.62

37.13

38.70

39.63

39.72

39.49

6.45

2.57

3.05

5.74

8.07

11.69

9.97

14.77

541.95

496.56

519.79

514.50

584.06

593.00

568.48

636.60

33.91 3.62 1.03 34.70 130.39

14.77 0.82 0.26 18.29 66.08

27.08 1.70 0.63 31.77 102.99

23.24 2.86 1.03 40.77 103.94

32.43 5.06 1.17 33.53 144.14

58.47 6.99 1.77 41.82 205.59

55.40 7.19 1.81 48.72 205.47

63.94 6.64 1.69 29.39 205.80

16.12 41.20 34.10

9.72 19.41 19.22

10.55 36.87 26.20

18.46 48.96 42.12

17.20 55.49 45.74

22.60 46.03 39.31

26.39 50.02 44.71

15.87 38.94 29.72

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

40 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 29. Information and consumer electronics: Indexed spending by education, 2006 (indexed average annual spending of consumer units (CU) on information and consumer electronics by education of consumer unit reference person, 2006; index deﬁnition: an index of 100 is the average for all consumer units; an index of 132 means that spending by consumer units in that group is 32 percent above the average for all consumer units; an index of 68 indicates spending that is 32 percent below the average for all consumer units) college graduate total consumer units

less than high school graduate

high school graduate

some college

associate’s degree

$48,398 100

$28,760 59

$39,305 81

$45,891 95

$52,272 108

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100 100 100 100 100 100

66 23 78 63 47 37

87 46 95 91 77 74

100 85 99 106 107 103

100

42

48

100

34

Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription

100 100 100 100

53 8 28 47

100

55

Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use

100 100 100 100 100

Average spending of CU, total Average spending of CU, index

Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

total

bachelor’s degree

master’s, professional, doctorate

$67,836 140

$63,864 132

$74,906 155

113 105 110 118 122 119

127 201 113 118 137 149

124 168 114 118 132 143

131 259 112 118 146 158

100

126

170

167

177

68 89 88 57 79

105 116 91 101 86

126 115 193 51 104

153 118 136 196 158

146 108 116 222 131

165 136 170 152 206

12 26 195 53 35

90 51 58 89 67 73

108 94 116 85 83 89

102 104 137 88 124 118

127 197 154 75 160 162

122 207 144 66 153 172

134 178 171 92 171 144

100

48

78

118

123

126

126

126

100

40

47

89

125

181

155

229

100

92

96

95

108

109

105

117

100

44

100 100 100 100

23 25 53 51

80 47 61 92 79

69 79 100 117 80

96 140 114 97 111

172 193 172 121 158

163 199 176 140 158

189 183 164 85 158

100 100 100

60 47 56

65 89 77

115 119 124

107 135 134

140 112 115

164 121 131

98 95 87

Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumetr Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 41

Table 30. Information and consumer electronics: Total spending by education, 2006 (total annual spending on information and consumer electronics, by consumer unit (CU) educational attainment group, 2006; consumer units and dollars in thousands) college graduate total consumer units Number of consumer units Total spending of all CUs

118,843 $5,751,801,544

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service, community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

300,911,664 6,364,043 64,061,131 62,247,587

less than high school graduate

high school graduate

some college

17,747

31,134

25,135

$510,403,897 $1,223,713,152 $1,153,480,088

29,569,519 215,981 7,453,030 5,852,073

68,198,404 774,614 16,021,245 14,808,887

63,333,414 1,149,926 13,478,141 13,955,203

master’s, professional, doctorate

associate’s degree

total

bachelor’s degree

11,582

33,244

21,277

11,967

$605,416,852 $2,255,123,694 $1,358,833,902

$896,399,982

33,258,060 106,520,092 651,024 3,572,400 6,836,855 20,270,861 7,142,272 20,488,610

66,901,484 1,911,100 13,057,057 13,113,866

39,618,429 1,661,259 7,213,947 7,374,783

4,044,227

283,952

20,968,659

1,167,753

819,136 4,052,401

912,652 4,587,389

480,653 2,441,833

1,547,508 8,719,236

953,635 5,386,060

593,683 3,333,288

2,578,893

161,143

327,530

544,173

316,768

1,229,031

769,589

459,533

16,945,823

858,955

759,407 190,149 194,903

60,340 2,130 8,164

3,011,280 177,152 43,588 28,955

3,754,918 186,250 36,446 41,473

2,076,189 85,128 35,673 9,613

7,244,200 250,660 72,139 107,046

4,423,488 146,386 39,575 77,448

2,820,742 104,352 32,550 29,798

5,782,900

402,324

1,196,480

1,051,146

584,080

2,548,817

1,351,302

1,197,657

1,729,166

142,863

489,633 2,069,057 2,514,718 2,124,913 3,869,528

8,874 81,459 731,354 168,951 204,978

407,233 65,070 316,321 589,055 375,476 736,008

395,374 97,272 505,716 449,917 374,512 730,926

171,993 49,455 275,304 214,962 257,468 445,328

612,022 269,276 890,274 529,244 948,119 1,752,624

378,092 181,280 534,904 297,452 581,500 1,190,235

233,955 87,957 355,420 231,920 366,669 562,449

3,736,424

270,464

766,519

933,263

448,223

1,317,460

845,122

472,577

766,537

45,610

94,959

144,275

93,467

388,622

212,132

176,753

64,406,964

8,812,450

16,183,142

12,931,958

6,764,583

19,713,692

12,095,549

7,618,192

4,029,966 430,212 122,408 4,123,852 15,495,939

262,123 14,553 4,614 324,593 1,172,722

843,109 52,928 19,614 989,127 3,206,491

584,137 71,886 25,889 1,024,754 2,612,532

375,604 58,605 13,551 388,344 1,669,429

1,943,777 232,376 58,842 1,390,264 6,834,634

1,178,746 152,982 38,511 1,036,615 4,371,785

765,170 79,461 20,224 351,710 2,462,809

1,915,749 4,896,332 4,052,546

172,501 344,469 341,097

328,464 1,147,911 815,711

463,992 1,230,610 1,058,686

199,210 642,685 529,761

751,314 1,530,221 1,306,822

561,500 1,064,276 951,295

189,916 465,995 355,659

Note: Numbers may not add to total because of rounding. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

42 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Table 31. Information and consumer electronics: Market shares by education, 2006 (percentage of total annual spending on information and consumer electronics accounted for by consumer unit educational attainment groups, 2006) college graduate

Share of total consumer units Share of total before-tax income Share of total spending

total consumer units 100.0% 100.0 100.0

less than high school graduate 14.9% 7.8 8.9

high school graduate 26.2% 19.9 21.3

some college 21.1% 18.8 20.1

associate’s degree 9.7% 10.8 10.5

total 28.0% 42.6 39.2

bachelor’s degree 17.9% 24.5 23.6

master’s, professional, doctorate 10.1% 18.1 15.6

Information and consumer electronics Books Cable service and community antenna Cellular phone service Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Computer information services Computer software and accessories, nonbusiness use Computers and computer hardware, nonbusiness use

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

9.8 3.4 11.6 9.4 7.0 5.6

22.7 12.2 25.0 23.8 20.3 19.3

21.0 18.1 21.0 22.4 22.6 21.9

11.1 10.2 10.7 11.5 11.9 11.6

35.4 56.1 31.6 32.9 38.3 41.6

22.2 30.0 20.4 21.1 23.6 25.7

13.2 26.1 11.3 11.8 14.7 15.9

100.0

6.2

12.7

21.1

12.3

47.7

29.8

17.8

100.0

5.1

Film Global positioning services Internet services away from home Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Personal digital assistants Personal digital audio players Phone cards Photo processing Photographic equipment Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

7.9 1.1 4.2 7.0

17.8 23.3 22.9 14.9 20.7

22.2 24.5 19.2 21.3 18.2

12.3 11.2 18.8 4.9 10.1

42.7 33.0 37.9 54.9 44.1

26.1 19.3 20.8 39.7 23.4

16.6 13.7 17.1 15.3 20.7

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

8.3 1.8 3.9 29.1 8.0 5.3

23.6 13.3 15.3 23.4 17.7 19.0

22.9 19.9 24.4 17.9 17.6 18.9

9.9 10.1 13.3 8.5 12.1 11.5

35.4 55.0 43.0 21.0 44.6 45.3

21.9 37.0 25.9 11.8 27.4 30.8

13.5 18.0 17.2 9.2 17.3 14.5

100.0

7.2

20.5

25.0

12.0

35.3

22.6

12.6

100.0

6.0

12.4

18.8

12.2

50.7

27.7

23.1

100.0

13.7

25.1

20.1

10.5

30.6

18.8

11.8

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

6.5 3.4 3.8 7.9 7.6

20.9 12.3 16.0 24.0 20.7

14.5 16.7 21.1 24.8 16.9

9.3 13.6 11.1 9.4 10.8

48.2 54.0 48.1 33.7 44.1

29.2 35.6 31.5 25.1 28.2

19.0 18.5 16.5 8.5 15.9

100.0 100.0 100.0

9.0 7.0 8.4

17.1 23.4 20.1

24.2 25.1 26.1

10.4 13.1 13.1

39.2 31.3 32.2

29.3 21.7 23.5

9.9 9.5 8.8

Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Residential telephone service and pay phones Sound components, equipment, and accessories Streaming and downloading audio Streaming and downloading video Telephones and answering machines Television sets Video cassette recorders and video disc players Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Video game hardware and software

Note: Numbers may not add to total because of rounding. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 43

Books Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 64 Married couples without children at home Married couples with school-aged children Households in the West College graduates

Customer trends:

Average household spending on books may rise as boomers become empty-nesters with more free time.

Book buying is the province of college graduates. Householders with a college degree spend more than twice the average on books and account for 56 percent of the market. Householders aged 35 to 64 spend 14 to 18 percent more than average on books. Many of them are empty-nesters with time to read. Married couples without children at home spend 31 percent more than average on books, while couples with school-aged children spend 43 percent more than average on this item—buying books not only for themselves but also for their children. Average household spending on books fell 21 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. The decline was smaller than that for newspapers and magazines, which may suggest good news for the book industry. Books are likely to weather the Internet revolution better than other print media because there are no adequate electronic alternatives. Some of the decline in spending on books may be due to price competition from discounters and used book sales. Average household spending on books is likely to rise as boomers become empty-nesters with more time to read.

Table 32. Books Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

44 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$6,364,042,650.00 53.55 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$53.55 28.15 49.42 61.12 63.06 62.14 49.62 31.98

100 53 92 114 118 116 93 60

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 3.6 15.6 23.0 24.5 18.5 9.2 5.6

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$53.55 20.07 28.93 42.53 49.25 69.54 75.42 128.54

100 37 54 79 92 130 141 240

100.0% 8.2 12.5 7.6 13.7 7.6 12.1 38.2

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

53.55 67.02 70.15 68.32 55.85 76.38 62.34 38.97 41.25

100 125 131 128 104 143 116 73 77

100.0 62.6 27.9 31.5 5.1 18.2 8.3 4.4 22.8

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

53.55 55.15 19.56 22.38 63.48

100 103 37 42 119

100.0 3.6 4.4 4.8 90.8

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

53.55 57.62 54.23 37.31 75.43

100 108 101 70 141

100.0 20.6 23.2 24.9 31.3

53.55 12.17 24.88 45.75 56.21 107.46 89.82 138.82

100 23 46 85 105 201 168 259

100.0 3.4 12.2 18.1 10.2 56.1 30.0 26.1

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 45

Cable Service and Community Antenna Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 64 Married couples

Customer trends:

If cable television can continue to innovate, households will continue to spend.

Cable television service and community antenna (satellite TV) is the number-one entertainment expenditure of the average household. Because cable service is nearly universal, average household spending on the service does not vary much by demographic characteristic. By age, the best customers are householders ranging in age from 35 to 64, spending 7 to 11 percent more than average on this item. These three age groups account for 62 percent of household spending on cable television service. Married couples spend 16 percent more than average on cable television. Couples with adult children at home spend 27 percent more. Spending on cable television and community antenna service grew by a substantial 43 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the increased spending on cable service are more cable offerings. Many households opted for more service, with higher bills. If cable television can continue to innovate, households will continue to spend.

Table 33. Cable service and community antenna Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

46 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$64,061,130,720.00 539.04 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$539.04 295.44 523.63 577.83 599.80 583.54 551.46 439.36

100 55 97 107 111 108 102 82

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 3.8 16.4 21.6 23.1 17.3 10.1 7.7

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$539.04 335.36 461.94 560.94 592.70 618.69 678.60 763.78

100 62 86 104 110 115 126 142

100.0% 13.7 19.9 10.0 16.4 6.7 10.8 22.6

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

539.04 625.71 609.37 636.59 585.85 629.50 683.91 497.37 403.35

100 116 113 118 109 117 127 92 75

100.0 58.0 24.1 29.2 5.3 14.9 9.0 5.6 22.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

539.04 485.83 531.98 431.66 556.23

100 90 99 80 103

100.0 3.1 11.8 9.2 79.1

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

539.04 594.43 485.41 566.35 502.66

100 110 90 105 93

100.0 21.1 20.6 37.5 20.7

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

539.04 419.96 514.59 536.23 590.30 609.76 613.67 602.82

100 78 95 99 110 113 114 112

100.0 11.6 25.0 21.0 10.7 31.6 20.4 11.3

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 47

Compact Disks, Audio Tapes, Records Best customers:

Householders under age 25 and aged 35 to 54 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending will decline as online downloads become the dominant mode for purchasing music.

Householders under age 55 dominate spending on compact disks, audio tapes, and records. The youngest householders, those aged under 25, spend 37 percent more than average on this item, and householders aged 35 to 54 spend 20 to 24 percent more than average. Married couples with schoolaged or older children at home spend 36 to 40 percent more than average on CDs, audio tapes, and records. Households in the West spend 32 percent more than the average on this item Average household spending on CDs, audiotapes, and records fell 26 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. This is only the beginning of a steep decline in spending on this item because downloads are replacing compact disks as the preferred way to purchase music.

Table 34. Compact Disks, audio tapes, records Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

48 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$3,993,624,680.00 34.03 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$34.03 46.49 36.64 40.94 42.32 29.30 21.65 8.27

100 137 108 120 124 86 64 24

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 9.4 18.2 24.2 25.8 13.7 6.3 2.3

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$34.03 17.64 25.21 34.16 38.38 41.35 40.03 59.37

100 52 74 100 113 122 118 174

100.0% 11.4 17.2 9.7 16.8 7.1 10.1 27.8

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

34.03 36.55 29.12 43.38 27.39 47.77 46.39 34.94 27.78

100 107 86 127 80 140 136 103 82

100.0 53.7 18.2 31.5 3.9 17.9 9.7 6.2 24.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

34.03 36.85 26.35 31.38 35.65

100 108 77 92 105

100.0 3.7 9.3 10.6 80.3

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

34.03 34.02 32.19 28.47 44.85

100 100 95 84 132

100.0 19.1 21.7 29.9 29.3

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

34.03 16.00 26.31 36.31 41.50 46.55 44.82 49.61

100 47 77 107 122 137 132 146

100.0 7.0 20.3 22.6 11.9 38.3 23.6 14.7

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 49

Cellular Phone Service Best customers:

Householders aged 25 to 54 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Single parents

Customer trends:

Spending in this category should stabilize as cell phones become the norm and prices for cell phone service fall.

Parents are the biggest spenders on cell phone service. Couples with schoolaged children spend 40 percent more than average on this item, while those with adult children at home spend 66 percent more. Single parents spend 11 percent more than average on cell phone service. Householders aged 25 to 54, most with children at home, spend 20 to 26 percent more than average on cell phone service and control fully 71 percent of the market. Average household spending on cell phone service soared between 2000 and 2006, nearly tripling after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the increase is the growing share of households that spend on cell service, rising from 21 percent during the average quarter of 2000 to 53 percent in 2006. The enormous growth in spending on cell service may mean slower growth in the future. Not only is cell service becoming the norm, but cutthroat competition is lowering service prices.

Table 35. Cellular phone service Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

50 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$62,247,586,540.00 523.78 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$523.78 501.03 657.56 648.93 627.30 476.18 292.85 129.37

100 96 126 124 120 91 56 25

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 6.6 21.2 25.0 24.9 14.5 5.5 2.3

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$523.78 230.29 397.08 521.35 637.09 683.89 705.75 850.98

100 44 76 100 122 131 135 162

100.0% 9.6 17.6 9.6 18.1 7.6 11.6 25.9

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

523.78 637.38 486.16 749.84 620.90 732.62 868.68 579.20 283.29

100 122 93 143 119 140 166 111 54

100.0 60.9 19.8 35.4 5.7 17.8 11.8 6.7 16.0

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

523.78 642.39 490.67 629.51 513.17

100 123 94 120 98

100.0 4.2 11.2 13.8 75.1

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

523.78 469.99 484.27 558.74 554.62

100 90 92 107 106

100.0 17.2 21.2 38.1 23.5

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

523.78 329.75 475.65 555.21 616.67 616.31 616.34 616.26

100 63 91 106 118 118 118 118

100.0 9.4 23.8 22.4 11.5 32.9 21.1 11.8

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 51

Computers and Computer Hardware for Nonbusiness Use Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 54 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Asians Households in the West

Customer trends:

Average household spending on computers and computer hardware is likely to decline as prices continue to fall.

The best customers of computers and computer hardware for nonbusiness use are households with school-aged or older children. Householders ranging in age from 35 to 54 spend 25 to 32 percent more than the average household on computers. Married couples with school-aged or older children at home spend 41 to 66 percent more than the average household on this item. Asians spend 43 percent more. Households in the West, where many Asians reside, spend 35 percent more than average on computers and computer hardware for nonbusiness use. Average household spending on computer hardware fell by 35 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the decline is market saturation as a growing majority of households became computer owners, as well as falling prices. These factors will continue to inﬂuence the household market for computer hardware, pointing to a continuing decline in spending on the category.

Table 36. Computers and computer hardware for nonbusiness use Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

52 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$16,945,823,370.00 142.59 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$142.59 117.65 149.88 188.69 178.36 133.09 92.83 38.97

100 83 105 132 125 93 65 27

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 5.7 17.8 26.7 26.0 14.9 6.4 2.6

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$142.59 55.52 75.75 101.67 158.95 176.39 215.68 317.37

100 39 53 71 111 124 151 223

100.0% 8.5 12.3 6.9 16.6 7.2 13.0 35.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

142.59 174.30 138.19 201.79 151.86 201.70 236.00 85.31 101.93

100 122 97 142 107 141 166 60 71

100.0 61.1 20.6 35.0 5.2 18.1 11.8 3.6 21.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

142.59 203.62 69.09 137.02 154.73

100 143 48 96 109

100.0 4.9 5.8 11.0 83.1

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

142.59 126.66 133.43 125.66 192.94

100 89 94 88 135

100.0 17.0 21.4 31.5 30.1

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

142.59 48.40 96.72 149.39 179.26 217.91 207.90 235.71

100 34 68 105 126 153 146 165

100.0 5.1 17.8 22.2 12.3 42.7 26.1 16.6

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 53

Computer Information Services Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 54 Married couples with children at home Asians Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending will climb as broadband online access becomes ubiquitous.

The best customers of computer information services (Internet access) are households with children. Householders aged 35 to 54 spend 18 to 22 percent more than the average household on Internet service and control half the household spending on this item. Married couples with children at home spend 37 percent more than average on Internet service. Asians spend 24 percent more than average on this item, and households in the West, where many Asians reside, 21 percent more. Average household spending on computer information services has more than doubled since 2000 and accounts for a growing share of the household budget. The average household spends well over three times as much on computer information services as it does on newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Spending for online service will continue to grow as younger generations of wired householders replace older generations with little interest in computers or Internet access.

Table 37. Computer information services Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

54 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$20,968,658,920.00 176.44 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$176.44 104.83 194.02 216.06 208.74 181.81 140.68 70.13

100 59 110 122 118 103 80 40

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.1 18.6 24.7 24.6 16.4 7.9 3.8

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$176.44 65.48 120.78 170.96 205.32 229.43 255.91 324.25

100 37 68 97 116 130 145 184

100.0% 8.1 15.9 9.3 17.3 7.6 12.5 29.2

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

176.44 222.85 203.84 241.23 216.29 249.39 243.59 150.67 111.49

100 126 116 137 123 141 138 85 63

100.0 63.2 24.6 33.8 5.9 18.0 9.8 5.2 18.7

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

176.44 219.54 107.61 127.39 194.49

100 124 61 72 110

100.0 4.3 7.3 8.3 84.5

REGION Average household

176.44

100

Northeast Midwest South West

180.14 164.38 159.49 212.91

102 93 90 121

100.0 19.6 21.3 32.3 26.8

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

176.44 65.80 130.16 182.51 210.83 262.28 253.14 278.54

100 37 74 103 119 149 143 158

100.0 5.6 19.3 21.9 11.6 41.6 25.7 15.9

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 55

Computer Software and Accessories for Nonbusiness Use Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 54 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Households in the West

Customer trends:

Average household spending on computer software and accessories may rebound if new applications can entice buyers.

The best customers of computer software and accessories for nonbusiness use are households with children. Householders aged 35 to 54 spend 23 to 40 percent more than the average household on computer software. Couples with school-aged or older children at home spend 49 to 56 percent more. Households in the West spend 68 percent more than average on computer software. Average household spending on computer software and accessories has increased a modest 6 percent since 2000. One factor that explains this relatively modest growth in spending is software bundling, whereby computer manufacturers include software with their hardware in an attempt to entice buyers. New, must-have software applications may reverse this trend.

Table 38. Computer software and accessories for nonbusiness use Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

56 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$2,578,893,100.00 21.70 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$21.70 14.65 22.46 26.67 30.46 18.91 13.89 8.50

100 68 104 123 140 87 64 39

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.6 17.5 24.8 29.2 13.9 6.3 3.7

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$21.70 7.22 9.72 19.65 20.53 31.77 36.24 49.86

100 33 45 91 95 146 167 230

100.0% 7.3 10.4 8.7 14.1 8.6 14.4 36.6

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

21.70 28.74 24.61 31.51 26.02 32.27 33.91 12.67 13.37

100 132 113 145 120 149 156 58 62

100.0 66.2 24.1 35.9 5.8 19.0 11.1 3.5 18.3

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

21.70 20.14 13.62 14.95 23.95

100 93 63 69 110

100.0 3.2 7.5 7.9 84.6

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

21.70 15.51 21.16 16.23 36.37

100 71 98 75 168

100.0 13.7 22.3 26.7 37.3

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

21.70 9.08 10.52 21.65 27.35 36.97 36.17 38.40

100 42 48 100 126 170 167 177

100.0 6.2 12.7 21.1 12.3 47.7 29.8 17.8

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 57

Film Best customers:

Householders aged 45 to 74 Married couples Single parents

Customer trends:

Spending will continue to decline as digital cameras make ﬁlm obsolete.

Married couples with children at home spend 33 percent more than the average household on ﬁlm as they photograph the milestones in their children’s lives. Householders aged 45 to 74, many of them parents and grandparents, spend 24 to 32 percent more than average on this item. Single parents spend 14 percent more. Average household spending on ﬁlm fell by an enormous 74 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the decline was the shift to digital photography, rendering ﬁlm obsolete. This trend should continue as virtually all households replace their ﬁlm cameras with digital models.

Table 39. Film Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

58 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$749,904,840.00 6.39 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$6.39 4.08 4.47 6.60 8.46 8.23 7.90 1.85

100 64 70 103 132 129 124 29

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.4 11.8 20.8 27.5 20.5 12.2 2.7

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$6.39 3.02 4.42 6.08 7.29 12.14 7.69 10.43

100 47 69 95 114 190 120 163

100.0% 10.4 16.0 9.2 17.0 11.1 10.4 26.0

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

6.39 8.32 7.90 8.52 7.23 8.85 8.79 7.31 3.92

100 130 124 133 113 138 138 114 61

100.0 65.1 26.3 33.0 5.5 17.7 9.8 7.0 18.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

6.39 3.22 3.43 5.88 6.93

100 50 54 92 108

100.0 1.7 6.4 10.6 83.1

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

6.39 7.67 6.38 6.13 5.74

100 120 100 96 90

100.0 23.0 22.9 34.3 20.0

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

6.39 3.40 5.69 7.41 7.35 7.54 6.88 8.72

100 53 89 116 115 118 108 136

100.0 7.9 23.3 24.5 11.2 33.0 19.3 13.7

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 59

Global Positioning System Services Best customers:

Householders aged 45 to 74 High-income households Married couples without children at home

Customer trends:

Average household spending on global positioning systems may increase as prices fall and more families equip their vehicles with these convenient devices.

The best customers for global positioning system services are afﬂuent, middle-aged and older married couples. Householders aged 45 to 54 spend 44 percent more than average on this item, while those aged 65 to 74 spend over twice the average amount on GPS services. Householders with incomes of $100,000 or more spend three times the average on this item. Married couples without children at home, most of them empty-nesters, spend more than twice the average on GPS services. Global positioning system services was newly added to the Consumer Expenditure Survey in 2005. Average household spending on global positioning system services may increase as prices fall and more families equip their vehicles with these conveniences, but spending may be constrained by the addition of these services to cell phones.

Table 40. Global positioning system services Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

60 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$190,148,800.00 1.60 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$1.60 – 0.54 1.30 2.31 1.80 3.29 1.59

100 – 34 81 144 113 206 99

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% – 5.7 16.4 30.0 17.9 20.4 9.4

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$1.60 0.21 0.74 1.54 0.87 3.01 1.98 4.86

100 13 46 96 54 188 124 304

100.0% 2.8 10.7 9.3 8.1 11.0 10.7 48.3

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

1.60 2.51 3.52 1.63 0.87 2.22 1.09 0.64 0.61

100 157 220 102 54 139 68 40 38

100.0 78.4 46.8 25.2 2.6 17.7 4.8 2.4 11.3

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

1.60 1.55 0.33 0.37 1.98

100 97 21 23 124

100.0 3.3 2.5 2.7 94.8

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

1.60 1.67 2.26 1.66 0.75

100 104 141 104 47

100.0 20.0 32.3 37.1 10.4

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

1.60 0.12 1.40 1.45 3.08 2.17 1.86 2.72

100 8 88 91 193 136 116 170

100.0 1.1 22.9 19.2 18.8 37.9 20.8 17.1

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. “–” means sample is too small to make a reliable estimate. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 61

Internet Services Away from Home Best customers:

Householders aged 45 to 64 Married couples with adult children at home Single parents Asians Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending on this item is likely to be constrained by free Wi-Fi connections offered by hotels and coffee shops.

The best customers for Internet services away from home are older householders, single parents, and Asians. Householders ranging in age from 45 to 64 spend 25 to 72 percent more than the average household on Internet services away from home. Single parents with children under age 18 at home spend 88 percent more than average on this item. Asians spend twoand-one-half times the average amount on Internet services away from home, while households in the West, where many Asians reside, spend 46 percent more. Trend data for spending on Internet services away from home are unavailable because it is a category added to the Consumer Expenditure Survey only in 2005. Average household spending on Internet services away from home may not rise much in the years ahead as free Wi-Fi reduces the need to buy this item.

Table 41. Internet services away from home Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

62 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$194,902,520.00 1.64 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$1.64 1.06 1.19 1.50 2.82 2.05 0.90 0.70

100 65 73 91 172 125 55 43

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.4 12.3 18.4 35.7 19.9 5.4 4.0

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$1.64 0.90 1.04 1.68 1.05 2.09 1.51 3.99

100 55 63 102 64 127 92 243

100.0% 12.0 14.7 9.9 9.5 7.5 7.9 38.7

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

1.64 1.67 1.53 1.64 1.08 1.36 2.52 3.09 0.95

100 102 93 100 66 83 154 188 58

100.0 50.9 19.9 24.7 3.2 10.6 10.9 11.5 17.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

1.64 4.20 0.69 1.54 1.81

100 256 42 94 110

100.0 8.8 5.1 10.8 84.6

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

1.64 1.71 1.25 1.40 2.39

100 104 76 85 146

100.0 20.0 17.4 30.5 32.4

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

1.64 0.46 0.93 1.65 0.83 3.22 3.64 2.49

100 28 57 101 51 196 222 152

100.0 4.2 14.9 21.3 4.9 54.9 39.7 15.3

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 63

Magazines and Newspapers, Nonsubscription Best customers:

Householders aged 45 to 64 Married couples without children at home Married couples with school aged or older children at home Households in the Northeast

Customer trends:

Average household spending on nonsubscription newspapers and magazines will continue to decline as the availability of online news dampens impulse purchasing.

The best customers of nonsubscription magazines and newspapers are the mass-transit-riding residents of the Northeast’s commuter-friendly cities. Households in the Northeast spend 44 percent more than average on this item, many buying from newsstands or vending machines. Householders aged 45 to 64 spend 13 to 20 percent more than average on this item. Married couples without children at home, most of them older, spend 17 percent more than average on this item, while couples with school-aged or older children at home spend 15 to 16 percent more than average on nonsubscription newspapers and magazines, many of the purchases being impulse buys for their children. Average household spending on nonsubscription magazines and newspapers declined between 2000 and 2006, down an enormous 43 percent after adjusting for inﬂation. The downward spiral is due in part to easy (and free) access to newspapers online, which dampens impulse purchasing. This trend is likely to intensify as wireless Internet access becomes more widely available to commuters and long-distance travelers.

Table 42. Magazines and newspapers, nonsubscription Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

64 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$1,729,165,650.00 14.55 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$14.55 10.18 13.33 15.63 17.42 16.37 13.03 9.85

100 70 92 107 120 113 90 68

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.8 15.5 21.6 24.9 17.9 8.9 6.4

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$14.55 8.69 11.02 14.51 15.71 17.74 18.66 23.31

100 60 76 100 108 122 128 160

100.0% 13.1 17.6 9.6 16.1 7.1 11.1 25.5

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

14.55 16.34 17.01 16.24 13.77 16.89 16.78 9.79 12.94

100 112 117 112 95 116 115 67 89

100.0 56.2 24.9 27.6 4.6 14.8 8.2 4.1 26.4

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

14.55 9.92 9.57 7.14 16.44

100 68 66 49 113

100.0 2.4 7.9 5.6 86.6

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

14.55 20.96 16.79 10.97 12.48

100 144 115 75 86

100.0 27.6 26.4 26.9 19.1

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

14.55 8.05 13.08 15.73 14.85 18.41 17.77 19.55

100 55 90 108 102 127 122 134

100.0 8.3 23.6 22.9 9.9 35.4 21.9 13.5

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 65

Magazines and Newspapers, Subscription Best customers:

Householders aged 55 or older Married couples without children at home Married couples with adult children at home Non-Hispanic whites

Customer trends:

Average household spending on newspaper and magazine subscriptions will continue to decline as Internet-savvy younger generations ﬂock to electronic alternatives.

Older householders are by far the best customers of newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Householders aged 55 or older spend 38 to 79 percent more than average on this item and control 55 percent of the market. Married couples without children at home (most of them older) spend 73 percent more than average on this item. Couples with adult children at home spend 38 percent above normal on this item. Non-Hispanic white households spend 21 percent more than average on subscriptions. Average household spending on subscriptions fell a substantial 38 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. The downward trend is likely to continue as Internet-savvy younger generations ﬂock to electronic alternatives. This trend will make magazine and newspaper publishers increasingly dependent on advertisers, rather than subscribers, for revenues.

Table 43. Magazines and newspapers, subscription Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

66 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$5,782,900,380.00 48.66 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$48.66 7.43 19.11 35.61 52.36 67.05 80.01 87.25

100 15 39 73 108 138 164 179

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 1.0 6.6 14.7 22.4 22.0 16.3 17.0

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$48.66 24.57 35.53 41.77 50.72 49.75 65.70 93.62

100 50 73 86 104 102 135 192

100.0% 11.1 16.9 8.3 15.5 6.0 11.6 30.6

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

48.66 65.42 84.08 52.54 35.24 50.95 67.19 14.54 36.95

100 134 173 108 72 105 138 30 76

100.0 67.2 36.8 26.7 3.5 13.4 9.8 1.8 22.5

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

48.66 34.67 16.38 13.78 58.90

100 71 34 28 121

100.0 2.5 4.0 3.3 92.7

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

48.66 53.22 57.81 36.45 54.94

100 109 119 75 113

100.0 20.9 27.2 26.8 25.1

48.66 22.67 38.43 41.82 50.43 76.67 63.51 100.08

100 47 79 86 104 158 131 206

100.0 7.0 20.7 18.2 10.1 44.1 23.4 20.7

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 67

Personal Digital Assistants Best customers:

Householders under age 55 Married couples with children under age 18 Asians Households in the West College graduates

Customer trends:

As smart cellular phones offer features once available only on personal digital assistants, the market for personal digital assistants should shrink.

The best customers of personal digital assistants are younger, college-educated married couples with children under age 18, who need to organize their professional and family obligations. Householders under age 55 spend from 18 to 75 percent more than the average household on personal digital assistants. Married couples with school-aged or younger children spend more than twice the average on this item as they manage their busy schedules. Asians spend 64 percent more than average on personal digital assistants, while households in the West, where many Asians reside, spend 46 percent more than average. College graduates spend twice the average on personal digital assistants. Because personal digital assistants were added to the Consumer Expenditure Survey only in 2005, no trend data are available. Average household spending on this item may shrink in the years ahead as smart cell phones combine the functions of a phone with the functions of a personal digital assistant.

Table 44. Personal digital assistants Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

68 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$489,633,160.00 4.12 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$4.12 4.99 7.23 4.86 5.12 2.63 0.78 0.21

100 121 175 118 124 64 19 5

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 8.3 29.6 23.8 25.8 10.2 1.9 0.5

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$4.12 2.25 2.00 2.63 4.12 6.00 2.32 10.98

100 55 49 64 100 146 56 267

100.0% 12.0 11.3 6.1 14.9 8.5 4.9 42.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

4.12 5.48 3.91 7.17 8.99 8.52 3.52 2.02 3.33

100 133 95 174 218 207 85 49 81

100.0 66.5 20.2 43.0 10.6 26.4 6.1 3.0 24.0

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

4.12 6.77 4.48 3.66 4.13

100 164 109 89 100

100.0 5.7 13.1 10.2 76.8

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

4.12 2.36 3.70 4.16 6.02

100 57 90 101 146

100.0 11.0 20.6 36.1 32.5

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

4.12 0.50 2.09 3.87 4.27 8.10 8.52 7.35

100 12 51 94 104 197 207 178

100.0 1.8 13.3 19.9 10.1 55.0 37.0 18.0

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 69

Personal Digital Audio Players Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 54 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending on personal digital audio players will increase even as as competition holds prices down.

Apple’s sleek iPods have created such a demand for personal digital audio players that the Bureau of Labor Statistics added them as a new expenditure category in 2005. The best customers of these devices are married couples with children. Married couples with school-aged children spend well more than twice the average on this item, while those with adult children at home spend 71 percent more than average. Householders aged 35 to 54, most with children, spend 37 to 67 percent more than average on personal digital audio players. Households in the West spend 45 percent more than average on this item. Average household spending on personal digital audio players is certain to increase as manufacturers release new models with new features even as competition holds prices down. This category could wither, however, if manufacturers produce an affordable, all-in-one device that combines audio, personal digital assistant, telephone, and Internet access.

Table 45. Personal digital audio players Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

70 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$2,043,167,960.00 17.41 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$17.41 15.61 18.63 29.03 23.92 10.04 5.68 2.17

100 90 107 167 137 58 33 12

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 6.2 18.1 33.6 28.6 9.2 3.2 1.2

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$17.41 4.64 6.64 8.43 19.69 24.67 31.08 43.91

100 27 38 48 113 142 179 252

100.0% 5.9 8.8 4.7 16.8 8.3 15.4 40.1

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

17.41 23.92 13.36 33.06 20.79 39.55 29.77 17.06 7.71

100 137 77 190 119 227 171 98 44

100.0 68.7 16.3 46.9 5.8 29.0 12.2 6.0 13.1

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

17.41 17.77 5.30 13.13 19.96

100 102 30 75 115

100.0 3.5 3.7 8.7 87.8

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

17.41 14.87 17.18 14.00 25.32

100 85 99 80 145

100.0 16.4 22.6 28.7 32.3

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

17.41 4.59 10.16 20.12 23.77 26.78 25.14 29.70

100 26 58 116 137 154 144 171

100.0 3.9 15.3 24.4 13.3 43.0 25.9 17.2

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 71

Phone Cards Best customers:

Householders under age 35 Single parents Hispanics and Asians Households in the West Householders without a high school diploma

Customer trends:

Spending in this category should grow along with the Asian and Hispanic populations.

The biggest spenders on phone cards are householders making international calls, many of them immigrants to the United States. Because immigrants tend to be younger adults, householders under age 35 spend more than others on this item—23 to 77 percent more than the average household. Single parents spend 25 percent more than average on phone cards. Hispanics and Asians spend well more than twice the average on this item and control 41 percent of the market. Households in the West, where many Hispanics and Asians reside, spend 40 percent more than average on phone cards. Householders without a high school diploma (many of them recent Hispanic immigrants) spend almost twice the average on this item. Phone cards were not included in the Consumer Expenditure Survey until recently, which limits the analysis of spending trends. Average household spending on phone cards is likely to rise in the years ahead along with the Asian and Hispanic populations.

Table 46. Phone cards Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

72 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$2,514,717,880.00 21.16 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$21.16 26.10 37.45 22.16 20.95 15.75 11.85 5.65

100 123 177 105 99 74 56 27

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 8.5 29.9 21.1 20.6 11.9 5.5 2.5

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$21.16 19.93 24.22 19.54 21.20 21.06 19.20 20.43

100 94 114 92 100 100 91 97

100.0% 20.7 26.5 8.9 14.9 5.8 7.8 15.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

21.16 20.71 14.52 20.50 19.03 21.75 19.28 26.49 13.08

100 98 69 97 90 103 91 125 62

100.0 48.9 14.6 24.0 4.4 13.1 6.5 7.6 18.3

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

21.16 50.81 23.43 60.90 14.85

100 240 111 288 70

100.0 8.3 13.3 33.1 53.8

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

21.16 21.75 14.66 19.68 29.71

100 103 69 93 140

100.0 19.7 15.9 33.2 31.2

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

21.16 41.21 18.92 17.90 18.56 15.92 13.98 19.38

100 195 89 85 88 75 66 92

100.0 29.1 23.4 17.9 8.5 21.0 11.8 9.2

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 73

Photographic Equipment Best customers:

Householders aged 25 to 54 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending will continue to grow as digital cameras replace ﬁlm cameras in most homes.

Household spending on digital cameras is the driving force in this category. The best customers of photographic equipment are households that snap a lot of pictures: married couples with children. This explains why householders ranging in age from 25 to 54, many of whom are parents, are the best customers of photographic equipment—spending 13 to 32 percent more than average. Married couples with school-aged or older children at home spend 70 to 100 percent more than average on this item. Households in the West spend 50 percent more. Average household spending on photographic equipment grew by a substantial 38 percent between 2000 and 2006 after adjusting for inﬂation. The replacement of ﬁlm cameras with digital cameras is behind the increase, a substitution that should continue to drive spending in this category for several more years.

Table 47. Photographic equipment Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

74 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$3,821,111,360.00 32.56 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$32.56 28.34 38.74 36.64 43.07 32.70 19.48 6.29

100 87 119 113 132 100 60 19

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 6.0 20.1 22.7 27.5 16.0 5.9 1.8

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$32.56 7.09 15.79 24.20 37.88 33.94 44.51 85.21

100 22 48 74 116 104 137 262

100.0% 4.8 11.2 7.2 17.3 6.1 11.8 41.7

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

32.56 44.44 33.73 54.71 37.79 55.31 65.17 14.61 19.52

100 136 104 168 116 170 200 45 60

100.0 68.3 22.1 41.5 5.6 21.7 14.2 2.7 17.8

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

32.56 32.42 8.93 31.55 36.37

100 100 27 97 112

100.0 3.4 3.3 11.1 85.6

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

32.56 29.53 31.70 24.56 48.92

100 91 97 75 150

100.0 17.4 22.3 26.9 33.4

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

32.56 11.55 23.64 29.08 38.45 52.72 55.94 47.00

100 35 73 89 118 162 172 144

100.0 5.3 19.0 18.9 11.5 45.3 30.8 14.5

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 75

Photo Processing Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 44 and 55 to 64 Married couples with preschoolers

Customer trends:

Spending will slip as digital cameras and home printers reduce processing needs.

The best customers of photo processing are married couples with children under age 18. Couples with preschoolers spend twice the average on photo processing as they get ﬁlm and digital pictures of their children processed into prints. Householders aged 35 to 44, many of them parents, spend 19 percent more than average on photo processing. Householders aged 55 to 64 spend 13 percent more. Many are grandparents developing pictures of their grandchildren. Average household spending on photo processing fell by an enormous 51 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the decline was the shift to digital photography, allowing families to process pictures on their computers and printers at home. This trend should intensify as more households replace their ﬁlm cameras with digital models, but digital photo processing centers in drugstores and groceries may limit the decline in spending on this category.

Table 48. Photo processing Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

76 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$2,098,325,280.00 17.88 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$17.88 14.93 18.70 21.31 18.67 20.15 19.10 4.41

100 84 105 119 104 113 107 25

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 5.7 17.7 24.0 21.7 18.0 10.6 2.3

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$17.88 7.50 9.64 14.87 18.50 31.44 25.81 36.16

100 42 54 83 103 176 144 202

100.0% 9.2 12.5 8.0 15.4 10.3 12.4 32.2

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

17.88 24.79 22.01 27.97 36.32 28.50 21.32 11.56 9.87

100 139 123 156 203 159 119 65 55

100.0 69.3 26.2 38.7 9.9 20.3 8.5 3.9 16.4

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

17.88 15.56 6.21 11.25 20.71

100 87 35 63 116

100.0 3.0 4.2 7.2 88.7

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

17.88 21.22 19.70 12.51 21.75

100 119 110 70 122

100.0 22.7 25.2 25.0 27.0

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

17.88 9.52 12.06 14.90 22.23 28.52 27.33 30.64

100 53 67 83 124 160 153 171

100.0 8.0 17.7 17.6 12.1 44.6 27.4 17.3

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 77

Residential Telephone Service and Pay Phones Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 74 Married couples Blacks

Customer trends:

Spending in this category will decline as service prices drop and cell phones replace residential phones.

Because most households buy residential phone service, there is little variation in spending on this item by demographic characteristic. Married couples with school-aged or older children at home are the biggest spenders on residential phone service because their households are larger than average. These households spend 24 to 36 percent more than average on this service. Black households spend 18 percent more than average on residential phone service. Average household spending on residential phone service fell 39 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Falling service prices were behind the decline, as well as the substitution of cell phones for residential phones. Despite the decline, residential phone service still ranks ﬁrst in household spending among information and consumer electronics products and services. In a year or two, however, spending on cell phone service is likely to exceed spending on residential phone service.

Table 49. Residential telephone service and pay phones Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

78 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$64,406,963,850.00 541.95 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$541.95 194.86 433.58 599.36 621.17 623.31 584.31 509.69

100 36 80 111 115 115 108 94

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 2.5 13.5 22.3 23.8 18.3 10.7 8.9

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$541.95 393.76 480.59 540.53 588.72 610.34 632.18 718.68

100 73 89 100 109 113 117 133

100.0% 15.9 20.5 9.6 16.2 6.6 10.1 21.1

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

541.95 641.26 594.41 667.15 554.22 670.28 738.53 545.92 387.22

100 118 110 123 102 124 136 101 71

100.0 59.2 23.4 30.4 5.0 15.8 9.7 6.1 21.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

541.95 483.13 640.19 511.19 531.29

100 89 118 94 98

100.0 3.1 14.2 10.8 75.1

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

541.95 558.91 498.91 588.76 496.42

100 103 92 109 92

100.0 19.7 21.1 38.8 20.4

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

541.95 496.56 519.79 514.50 584.06 593.00 568.48 636.60

100 92 96 95 108 109 105 117

100.0 13.7 25.1 20.1 10.5 30.6 18.8 11.8

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 79

Sound Components, Equipment, and Accessories (Includes Radios and Tape Players) Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 44 Married couples with children under age 18 Asians Households in the West

Customer trends:

Average household spending on this category is unlikely to rise in the years ahead because of price discounting and product substitution.

The best customers of sound components, equipment, and accessories are households with school-aged or younger children. This explains why householders aged 35 to 44, most with children, spend 36 percent more than average on this item. Married couples with school-aged children at home spend 64 percent more than average on sound components, equipment, and accessories. Average household spending on sound components, equipment, and accessories fell by 32 percent between 2000 and 2006. Behind the decline is the substitution of personal digital audio equipment (such as iPods) for larger systems. Average household spending on this category is unlikely to rise in the years ahead because of price discounting and product substitution.

Table 50.

Sound components, equipment, and accessories (includes radios and tape players)

Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

80 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$3,979,541,960.00 33.91 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$33.91 35.60 34.98 46.09 33.04 34.73 34.29 4.97

100 105 103 136 97 102 101 15

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 7.2 17.4 27.4 20.2 16.3 10.0 1.4

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$33.91 16.17 17.98 46.25 42.06 15.88 28.69 81.92

100 48 53 136 124 47 85 242

100.0% 10.5 12.3 13.1 18.4 2.7 7.3 38.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

33.91 41.82 38.28 46.02 49.02 55.52 24.77 21.25 23.91

100 123 113 136 145 164 73 63 71

100.0 61.7 24.0 33.6 7.0 20.9 5.2 3.8 20.9

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

33.91 89.85 20.95 38.64 35.21

100 265 62 114 104

100.0 9.1 7.4 13.1 79.5

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

33.91 32.30 29.89 22.03 59.19

100 95 88 65 175

100.0 18.2 20.2 23.2 38.8

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

33.91 14.77 27.08 23.24 32.43 58.47 55.40 63.94

100 44 80 69 96 172 163 189

100.0 6.5 20.9 14.5 9.3 48.2 29.2 19.0

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 81

Streaming and Downloading Audio Best customers:

Householders aged 25 to 54 Married couples with school-aged children Households in the West

Customer trends:

Average household spending on streaming and downloading audio should rise in the years ahead as downloads become the norm for buying music.

Streaming and downloading audio is a spending category newly added in 2005. It captures spending on music downloads from sites such as iTunes. The best customers of audio downloads are households with school-aged children, spending almost twice the average on this item. Householders ranging in age from 25 to 54, many with children, spend 35 to 46 percent more than average on streaming and downloading audio and cumulatively account for 81 percent of the market. Households in the West spend 48 percent more than average on audio downloads. With soaring sales of personal digital audio players, and with this capability being built into a growing number of cell phones, average household spending on music downloads should increase greatly in the years ahead.

Table 51. Streaming and downloading audio Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

82 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$424,828,720.00 3.62 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$3.62 2.38 5.06 4.90 5.27 2.35 0.79 0.72

100 66 140 135 146 65 22 20

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.5 23.6 27.3 30.3 10.4 2.2 1.9

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$3.62 0.93 1.55 3.30 2.46 3.79 5.26 10.69

100 26 43 91 68 105 145 295

100.0% 5.7 9.9 8.8 10.1 6.1 12.5 47.0

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

3.62 4.32 2.83 5.70 3.88 7.18 4.29 2.67 2.76

100 119 78 157 107 198 119 74 76

100.0 59.7 16.6 38.9 5.2 25.3 8.4 4.5 22.6

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

3.62 1.76 0.96 2.52 4.20

100 49 27 70 116

100.0 1.7 3.2 8.0 88.9

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

3.62 3.89 3.33 2.59 5.35

100 107 92 72 148

100.0 20.6 21.1 25.6 32.9

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

3.62 0.82 1.70 2.86 5.06 6.99 7.19 6.64

100 23 47 79 140 193 199 183

100.0 3.4 12.3 16.7 13.6 54.0 35.6 18.5

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 83

Streaming and Downloading Video Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 44 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Single parents Households in the Northeast

Customer trends:

Average household spending on streaming and downloaded video should rise in the years ahead as downloads become the norm for distribution.

The Consumer Expenditure Survey added streaming and downloading video as a spending category in 2005. The best customers of video downloads are households with school-aged or older children, which spend 32 to 79 percent more than average on this item. Single parents spend about twice the average on the category. Householders aged 35 to 44, many with children, spend nearly twice the average on streaming and downloadable video and account for 39 percent of the market. Households in the Northeast spend 50 percent more than average on this item. As computers become increasingly integrated with television, average household spending on video downloads should increase greatly in the years ahead.

Table 52. Streaming and downloading video Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

84 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$120,876,680.00 1.03 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$1.03 0.73 0.86 2.00 1.18 0.80 0.46 0.16

100 71 83 194 115 78 45 16

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 4.9 14.1 39.1 23.8 12.4 4.4 1.5

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$1.03 0.33 0.67 1.34 1.19 0.93 1.27 2.10

100 32 65 130 116 90 123 204

100.0% 7.0 15.1 12.5 17.2 5.3 10.6 32.5

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

1.03 1.03 0.67 1.30 0.32 1.36 1.84 2.11 0.70

100 100 65 126 31 132 179 205 68

100.0 50.0 13.9 31.2 1.5 16.8 12.7 12.5 20.1

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

1.03 0.55 0.65 0.58 1.16

100 53 63 56 113

100.0 1.8 7.6 6.5 86.3

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

1.03 1.55 1.05 0.88 0.80

100 150 102 85 78

100.0 28.8 23.3 30.5 17.3

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

1.03 0.26 0.63 1.03 1.17 1.77 1.81 1.69

100 25 61 100 114 172 176 164

100.0 3.8 16.0 21.1 11.1 48.1 31.5 16.5

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 85

Telephones, Answering Machines, and Accessories Best customers:

Householders aged 35 to 54 Married couples with children under age 18

Customer trends:

Spending in this category may rise as cell phones add organizer functions and turn into fashion accessories, becoming a must-have item.

The best customers of telephones and answering machines are families with children. Married couples with school-aged or younger children spend 42 to 69 percent more than average on this item. Householders aged 35 to 54, most with children at home, spend 13 to 38 percent more than average on telephones. Average household spending on telephones, answering machines, and accessories fell 5 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. One factor behind the decline is cell phone promotions, whereby cell phone service providers give away phones to lure customers. Falling prices for residential phones and answering machines also account for the decline. Average household spending on this item may rise in the next few years as phones grow increasingly sophisticated, becoming a fashion accessory and must-have item.

Table 53. Telephones, answering machines, and accessories Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

86 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$4,123,852,100.00 34.70 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$34.70 32.34 28.26 39.31 48.02 27.44 41.86 14.50

100 93 81 113 138 79 121 42

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 6.4 13.8 22.8 28.8 12.6 11.9 4.0

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$34.70 23.59 26.01 30.95 33.26 40.06 44.38 59.17

100 68 75 89 96 115 128 171

100.0% 14.9 17.4 8.6 14.3 6.8 11.0 27.1

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

34.70 43.76 39.02 46.56 58.55 49.40 32.86 21.04 24.54

100 126 112 134 169 142 95 61 71

100.0 63.1 23.9 33.2 8.2 18.2 6.7 3.7 21.0

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

34.70 22.01 22.41 17.02 39.40

100 63 65 49 114

100.0 2.2 7.8 5.6 87.0

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

34.70 39.78 40.78 28.94 33.29

100 115 118 83 96

100.0 22.0 26.9 29.8 21.3

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

34.70 18.29 31.77 40.77 33.53 41.82 48.72 29.39

100 53 92 117 97 121 140 85

100.0 7.9 24.0 24.8 9.4 33.7 25.1 8.5

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 87

Television Sets Best customers:

Householders aged 25 to 54 Married couples Asians Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending should continue to rise as more households purchase high-deﬁnition television sets.

The best customers of television sets are young to middle-aged married couples. Married couples spend 35 percent more than average on television sets, the ﬁgure peaking at 81 percent among couples with children under age 6. Householders spanning the ages from 25 to 54, most married and many with children, spend 10 to 24 percent more than average on television sets. Average household spending on television sets grew by a hefty 70 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Many households are replacing their increasingly obsolete older television sets with big-screen high-deﬁnition sets, boosting household spending on this item. Spending on television sets should increase over the next few years as prices for highdeﬁnition sets fall and more households adopt the new technology.

Table 54. Television sets Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

88 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$15,495,938,770.00 130.39 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$130.39 110.54 161.54 143.92 144.54 133.26 112.93 42.71

100 85 124 110 111 102 87 33

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 5.8 20.9 22.2 23.0 16.3 8.6 3.1

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$130.39 40.49 72.54 78.93 115.91 135.10 192.66 347.74

100 31 56 61 89 104 148 267

100.0% 6.8 12.9 5.8 13.2 6.1 12.7 42.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

130.39 176.50 160.53 186.33 236.07 176.29 170.43 81.14 77.29

100 135 123 143 181 135 131 62 59

100.0 67.7 26.2 35.3 8.8 17.3 9.3 3.8 17.6

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

130.39 166.68 63.38 124.62 141.56

100 128 49 96 109

100.0 4.4 5.8 11.0 83.2

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

130.39 117.93 115.86 124.33 165.81

100 90 89 95 127

100.0 17.3 20.3 34.1 28.3

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

130.39 66.08 102.99 103.94 144.14 205.59 205.47 205.80

100 51 79 80 111 158 158 158

100.0 7.6 20.7 16.9 10.8 44.1 28.2 15.9

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 89

Video Cassette Recorders and Video Disc Players Best customers:

Householders under age 25 and aged 35 to 44 Married couples with children under age 18 Asians Households in the West

Customer trends:

As households replace their DVD players with high-deﬁnition models, average household spending on this category may stabilize or even rise.

The best customers of video cassette recorders and digital video disk players are young and middle-aged householders buying equipment for their family’s enjoyment. Householders under age 25 spend 49 percent more than average on VCRs and DVD players, whereas those aged 35 to 44 spend 30 percent more than average. Married couples with children under age 18 spend 32 to 43 percent more than average on VCRs and DVD players. Asians spend 29 percent more than average, and households in the West, 48 percent more. Average household spending on VCRs and DVD players fell by 42 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Falling prices and changing technology were behind the decline as cheaper imports reduced costs and computers (with built-in DVD players) got connected to HDTV sets. Now that the high-deﬁnition format battle has played out, consumers are likely to replace their DVD players with HD models. This could boost average household spending in this category.

Table 55. Video cassette recorders and video disc players Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

90 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$1,891,778,720.00 16.12 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$16.12 24.04 16.12 20.91 18.31 13.40 11.80 4.43

100 149 100 130 114 83 73 27

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 10.2 16.9 26.1 23.6 13.3 7.2 2.6

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$16.12 6.74 11.07 13.13 16.04 21.49 28.14 29.77

100 42 69 81 100 133 175 185

100.0% 9.2 15.9 7.8 14.8 7.8 15.0 29.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

16.12 19.05 19.09 19.87 23.10 21.35 15.02 11.60 11.01

100 118 118 123 143 132 93 72 68

100.0 59.1 25.2 30.5 6.9 16.9 6.6 4.4 20.2

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

16.12 20.78 9.18 14.80 17.46

100 129 57 92 108

100.0 4.4 6.8 10.6 83.0

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

16.12 12.48 16.34 13.12 23.84

100 77 101 81 148

100.0 14.8 23.2 29.1 32.9

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

16.12 9.72 10.55 18.46 17.20 22.60 26.39 15.87

100 60 65 115 107 140 164 98

100.0 9.0 17.1 24.2 10.4 39.2 29.3 9.9

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 91

Video Cassettes, Tapes, and Discs Best customers:

Householders under age 45 Married couples with children at home Single parents

Customer trends:

Spending may increase as households buy high-deﬁnition versions of their favorite movies.

The best customers of video cassettes, tapes, and discs are young and middle-aged married couples with children, many of them buying children’s programming to keep the kids entertained. Householders under age 45 spend 24 to 32 percent more than average on videos and DVDs. Couples with children at home spend 40 percent more. Single parents spend 5 percent more than average on this item. Average household spending on video cassettes, tapes, and discs rose by a hefty 69 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the increase was the substitution of DVDs for videos as DVD players replaced VCRs. Now that the high-deﬁnition format battle has played out, consumers are likely to replace their DVDs with HD versions of their favorite movies. This could push average household spending on the category even higher in the years ahead.

Table 56. Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

92 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$4,835,067,200.00 41.20 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$41.20 51.26 53.37 54.49 45.97 36.64 17.40 5.95

100 124 130 132 112 89 42 14

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 8.6 21.9 26.7 23.2 14.2 4.2 1.4

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$41.20 20.04 30.79 40.13 45.18 56.42 56.77 68.39

100 49 75 97 110 137 138 166

100.0% 10.7 17.3 9.4 16.3 8.0 11.9 26.4

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

41.20 47.54 34.11 57.75 56.43 57.40 59.27 43.10 30.32

100 115 83 140 137 139 144 105 74

100.0 57.7 17.6 34.7 6.6 17.8 10.2 6.4 21.8

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

41.20 33.10 32.38 34.55 43.58

100 80 79 84 106

100.0 2.8 9.4 9.6 81.0

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

41.20 32.45 41.88 38.06 53.08

100 79 102 92 129

100.0 15.1 23.3 33.0 28.6

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

41.20 19.41 36.87 48.96 55.49 46.03 50.02 38.94

100 47 89 119 135 112 121 95

100.0 7.0 23.4 25.1 13.1 31.3 21.7 9.5

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 93

Video Game Hardware and Software Best customers:

Householders 25 to 44 Married couples with school-aged or older children at home Single parents

Customer trends:

Spending on video games may decline if online gaming becomes more popular.

Children and teenagers are the best customers of video game hardware and software. That is why householders aged 25 to 44—most having children at home—spend more than others on this item. Together the two age groups control 55 percent of household spending in this market. Married couples with school-aged children at home spend about two-and-one-half times the average on video game hardware and software, and those with adult children at home spend 84 percent more than average. Even single parents are some of the best customers of video game hardware and software, spending 46 percent more than average on this item. Average household spending on video game hardware and software rose 56 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Behind the increase are powerful new game players and a host of exciting new games, despite competition from online gaming. Average household spending on video game hardware and software may turn down if online gaming becomes increasingly popular.

Table 57. Video game hardware and software Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

94 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$4,001,839,600.00 34.10 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$34.10 42.33 47.67 52.70 40.02 19.16 7.99 3.75

100 124 140 155 117 56 23 11

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 8.5 23.6 31.1 24.4 9.0 2.3 1.0

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$34.10 16.06 20.34 34.87 38.97 47.76 49.42 60.64

100 47 60 102 114 140 145 178

100.0% 10.3 13.8 9.8 17.0 8.2 12.5 28.3

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

34.10 43.31 16.78 67.21 28.35 84.55 62.60 49.65 17.02

100 127 49 197 83 248 184 146 50

100.0 63.5 10.5 48.7 4.0 31.6 13.1 8.9 14.8

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

34.10 39.50 30.59 30.30 35.19

100 116 90 89 103

100.0 4.0 10.8 10.2 79.1

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

34.10 30.80 32.87 33.13 39.75

100 90 96 97 117

100.0 17.3 22.1 34.7 25.9

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

34.10 19.22 26.20 42.12 45.74 39.31 44.71 29.72

100 56 77 124 134 115 131 87

100.0 8.4 20.1 26.1 13.1 32.2 23.5 8.8

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 95

Video Tape, Disc, and Film Rental Best customers:

Householders 25 to 44 Married couples with children at home Single parents Households in the West

Customer trends:

Spending will continue to decline as video-on-demand from cable and other telecommunications services becomes more popular.

Parents are the best customers of video and DVD rentals. This explains why householders aged 25 to 44—many of whom are parents—spend 39 to 46 percent more than the average household on this item and control more than half the market. Married couples with children at home spend 60 percent more than average on video and DVD rentals. Even single parents spend 14 percent more than average on this category. Average household spending on video and DVD rentals fell 35 percent between 2000 and 2006, after adjusting for inﬂation. Falling prices and changing technology are behind the decline as competition in the rental market reduced fees and more households opted for downloads or streaming video. Spending is likely to continue to decline as video-on-demand offered by cable companies and other telecommunications services becomes more popular.

Table 58. Video tape, disc, and ﬁlm rental Total household spending Average household spends

AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER Average household Under age 25 Aged 25 to 34 Aged 35 to 44 Aged 45 to 54 Aged 55 to 64 Aged 65 to 74 Aged 75 or older

96 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$3,689,672,640.00 31.44 AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$31.44 34.44 45.84 43.58 35.16 22.94 12.48 3.66

100 110 146 139 112 73 40 12

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

100.0% 7.5 24.6 27.9 23.2 11.6 3.9 1.1

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

BEST CUSTOMERS (index)

$31.44 13.48 23.33 29.95 34.77 46.90 43.64 53.49

100 43 74 95 111 149 139 170

100.0% 9.4 17.2 9.2 16.4 8.7 12.0 27.1

HOUSEHOLD TYPE Average household Married couples Married couples, no children Married couples, with children Oldest child under 6 Oldest child 6 to 17 Oldest child 18 or older Single parent with child under 18 Single person

31.44 38.53 25.04 50.25 36.32 60.01 42.22 35.71 16.65

100 123 80 160 116 191 134 114 53

100.0 61.3 17.0 39.5 5.6 24.4 9.6 6.9 15.7

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Average household Asian Black Hispanic Non-Hispanic white and other

31.44 33.67 17.21 29.02 34.00

100 107 55 92 108

100.0 3.7 6.6 10.6 82.9

REGION Average household Northeast Midwest South West

31.44 23.33 31.80 27.14 44.96

100 74 101 86 143

100.0 14.2 23.2 30.8 31.8

EDUCATION Average household Less than high school graduate High school graduate Some college Associate’s degree College graduate Bachelor’s degree Master’s, professional, doctoral degree

31.44 15.24 24.62 37.13 38.70 39.63 39.72 39.49

100 48 78 118 123 126 126 126

100.0 7.2 20.5 25.0 12.0 35.3 22.6 12.6

HOUSEHOLD INCOME Average household Under $20,000 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $69,999 $70,000 to $79,999 $80,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more

BIGGEST CUSTOMERS (market share)

Note: Market shares may not sum to 100.0 because of rounding and missing categories by household type. “Asian” and “black” include Hispanics and non-Hispanics who identify themselves as being of the respective race alone. “Hispanic” includes people of any race who identify themselves as Hispanic. “Other” includes people who identify themselves as non-Hispanic and as Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian (who are also included in the Asian row), Native Hawaiian or other Paciﬁc Islander, as well as non-Hispanics reporting more than one race. Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 97

Appendix: Spending by product and service,

Ranked by amount spent, 2006 (average annual spending of consumer units on products and services, ranked by amount spent, 2006) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46.

Deductions for Social Security Mortgage interest (or rent, $2,436.89) Vehicle purchases (net outlay) Groceries (also shown by individual category) Restaurants (also shown by meal category) Gasoline and motor oil Federal income taxes Property taxes Health insurance Electricity Dinner at restaurants Vehicle insurance Lunch at restaurants Cash contributions to church, religious organizations Vehicle maintenance and repairs Women’s clothes Deductions for private pensions Maintenance and repair services, owner Residential phone service Cable TV and community antenna College tuition Cellular phone service State and local income taxes Natural gas Nonpayroll deposit to retirement plans Cash gifts to members of other households Prescription drugs Men’s clothes Homeowner’s insurance Airline fares Life and other personal insurance Lodging on trips Cigarettes Vehicle ﬁnance charges Water and sewerage maintenance Personal care services Day care centers, nurseries, and preschools Leased vehicles Restaurant meals on trips Dental services Beef Breakfast at restaurants Child support expenditures Finance charges other than mortgage and vehicle Other taxes Fresh fruits

98 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$3,810.60 3,460.96 3,420.83 3,416.86 2,317.68 2,227.46 1,711.22 1,648.73 1,464.98 1,265.88 1,072.70 886.43 768.62 752.84 688.44 628.59 607.42 559.60 541.95 539.04 523.87 523.78 519.09 508.74 447.76 408.70 392.97 352.58 342.52 334.60 322.14 320.64 302.20 297.81 286.49 274.04 265.09 256.87 242.93 238.96 236.25 233.43 215.79 202.66 202.01 195.44

47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100.

Fresh vegetables Cash contributions to charities and other organizations Owned vacation homes Computer information services Snacks at restaurants Physician’s services Motorized recreational vehicles Movie, theater, opera, ballet admissions Legal fees Pork Elementary and high school tuition Cosmetics, perfume, bath preparations Laundry and cleaning supplies Expenses for other properties Women’s footwear Computers and computer hardware for nonbusiness use Poultry Decorative items for the home Carbonated drinks Pet food Miscellaneous household products Prepared foods except frozen, salads, and desserts Television sets Jewelry Fresh milk Beer and ale at home Social, recreation, civic club membership Girls’ (aged 2 to 15) clothes Fish and seafood Sofas Housekeeping services Cash contributions to educational institutions Cheese Gardening, lawn care service Fees for participant sports Trash and garbage collection Wine at home Fees for recreational lessons Cleansing and toilet tissue, paper towels, and napkins Men’s footwear Lawn and garden supplies Maintenance and repair materials, owner Children’s (under age 2) clothes Potato chips and other snacks Vehicle registration, state and local Support for college students Hospital room and services Vet services Interest paid, home equity loan or line of credit Boys’ (aged 2 to 15) clothes Toys, games, arts and crafts, and tricycles Stationery, stationery supplies, giftwraps Bedroom furniture except mattresses and springs Beer and ale at bars, restaurants

$193.26 192.20 184.63 176.44 174.63 167.90 163.78 160.62 158.97 157.24 156.46 152.51 151.22 146.50 143.64 142.59 140.52 137.88 134.55 133.01 132.92 132.68 130.39 125.39 124.47 123.84 123.48 122.44 121.67 116.05 114.30 112.31 110.75 109.13 108.83 108.51 102.77 101.57 99.86 98.81 97.05 96.42 95.73 95.22 94.65 94.35 93.81 93.77 93.50 90.94 86.32 85.97 84.98 84.81

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 99

101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153. 154.

Ready-to-eat and cooked cereals Fuel oil Nonprescription drugs Babysitting and child care Candy and chewing gum Deductions for government retirement Lunch meats (cold cuts) Bedroom linens Lotteries and gambling losses Postage Frozen meals Rent as pay Catered affairs School lunches Frozen prepared foods, except meals Mattresses and springs Other alcoholic beverages at bars, restaurants Wall units, cabinets, and other occasional furniture Refrigerators, freezers Accounting fees Housing while attending school Professional laundry and dry cleaning Ice cream products School books, supplies, equipment for college Maintenance and repair materials, renter Athletic gear, game tables, and exercise equipment Funeral expenses Recreational expenses on trips Hair care products Canned and bottled fruit juice Bottled water Pet purchase, supplies, medicine Admission to sporting events Ship fares School expenses and supplies (except tuition, books) Bread, other than white Eyeglasses and contact lenses Books Intracity mass transit fares Ground rent Coffee Lawn and garden equipment Bottled gas Service by professionals other than physician Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Property management, owner Nonalcoholic beverages (except carbonated, coffee, fruit-ﬂavored drinks, tea, and water) and ice Sauces and gravies Unmotored recreational vehicles Kitchen, dining room furniture Indoor plants, fresh ﬂowers Alimony Living room chairs Occupational expenses

100 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$84.73 82.65 80.58 80.57 79.13 76.98 75.62 75.44 70.99 69.38 69.04 68.96 68.61 67.82 67.54 65.27 64.90 63.27 62.80 62.35 62.01 61.95 61.62 60.27 59.51 58.11 57.47 56.50 56.05 55.29 55.23 55.21 55.12 55.02 54.71 54.23 53.99 53.55 51.09 51.08 49.89 49.68 49.25 49.14 48.66 48.46 48.44 48.25 46.86 46.44 46.17 46.16 45.48 44.53

155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161. 162. 163. 164. 165. 166. 167. 168. 169. 170. 171. 172. 173. 174. 175. 176. 177. 178. 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208.

Cookies Alcoholic beverages purchased on trips Lab tests, X-rays Care for elderly, invalids, handicapped, etc. Groceries on trips Canned and packaged soups Biscuits and rolls Wine at bars, restaurants Moving, storage, freight express Video cassettes, tapes, and discs Miscellaneous personal services Nonprescription vitamins Coin-operated apparel laundry and dry cleaning Eyecare services Food or board at school Washing machines Rented vehicles Eggs Boys’ footwear Deodorants, feminine hygiene, miscellaneous personal care products Cakes and cupcakes Parking fees Video game hardware and software Compact discs, records, and audio tapes Pet services Telephones and accessories Cooking stoves, ovens Baby food Photographic equipment and supplies (except ﬁlm) Nuts Canned vegetables Prepared salads Topicals and dressings Crackers White bread Rental of video cassettes, tapes, discs, ﬁlms Electric ﬂoor-cleaning equipment Frozen vegetables Hunting and ﬁshing equipment Outdoor equipment Fats and oils Oral hygiene products Clothes dryers Meals as pay Other alcoholic beverages at home Bathroom linens Window coverings Tea Salad dressings Wall-to-wall carpeting Frozen and refrigerated bakery products Girls’ footwear Salt, spices, other seasonings Schools tuition (except college, elementary, high school)

$44.38 43.36 43.23 43.17 42.89 42.18 41.84 41.62 41.57 41.20 41.17 40.12 38.85 38.81 38.39 37.99 37.49 36.67 36.04 35.08 35.02 34.88 34.10 34.03 34.01 34.01 33.71 33.65 32.56 32.48 32.31 32.31 32.09 31.83 31.77 31.44 31.34 30.54 28.68 28.66 28.36 28.19 28.10 27.17 26.92 26.77 26.67 26.31 26.13 25.68 25.60 25.42 25.34 24.58

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 101

209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215. 216. 217. 218. 219. 220. 221. 222. 223. 224. 225. 226. 227. 228. 229. 230. 231. 232. 233. 234. 235. 236. 237. 238. 239. 240. 241. 242. 243. 244. 245. 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253. 254. 255. 256. 257. 258. 259. 260. 261. 262.

Curtains and draperies Power tools Tableware, nonelectric kitchenware Gifts of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to members of other households Pasta, cornmeal, and other cereal products Jams, preserves, other sweets Baking needs Tobacco products except cigarettes Photographer fees Sound equipment Cash contributions to political organizations Floor coverings, nonpermanent Computer software and accessories for nonbusiness use Taxi fares and limousine services Phone cards Checking accounts, other bank service charges Watches Sweetrolls, coffee cakes, doughnuts Nonelectric cookware Frankfurters Home security system service fee Cemetery lots, vaults, maintenance fees Small electric kitchen appliances Tolls Dishwashers (built-in), garbage disposals, range hoods Termite and pest control Canned fruits Butter Living room tables Appliance repair, including at service center Photo processing Noncarbonated fruit-ﬂavored drinks Closet and storage items Rice Fresh fruit juice Personal digital audio players Care in convalescent or nursing home Hearing aids Lamps and lighting ﬁxtures Shaving needs School books, supplies, equipment for elementary, high school Sugar Infants’ equipment Automobile service clubs Intercity train fares VCRs and video disc players Glassware Cream Musical instruments and accessories Outdoor furniture Laundry and cleaning equipment Maintenance and repair services, renter Newspapers and magazines, nonsubscription Pies, tarts, turnovers

102 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

$24.45 24.41 24.33 24.30 24.23 23.04 22.96 22.51 22.44 22.34 22.19 21.82 21.70 21.58 21.16 21.15 21.06 20.81 20.61 20.19 19.93 19.38 19.08 19.04 19.01 18.44 18.42 18.32 18.30 17.98 17.88 17.75 17.70 17.51 17.43 17.41 17.20 16.94 16.88 16.84 16.68 16.54 16.42 16.29 16.29 16.12 15.76 15.71 15.67 15.67 15.32 14.88 14.55 13.93

263. 264. 265. 266. 267. 268. 269. 270. 271. 272. 273. 274. 275. 276. 277. 278. 279. 280. 281. 282. 283. 284. 285. 286. 287. 288. 289. 290. 291. 292. 293. 294. 295. 296. 297. 298. 299. 300. 301. 302. 303. 304. 305. 306. 307. 308. 309. 310. 311. 312. 313. 314.

Local transportation on out-of-town trips Vegetable juice Material for making clothes Bicycles China and other dinnerware Nondairy cream and imitation milk Olives, pickles, relishes Electric personal care appliances Sewing materials for slipcovers and curtains, other sewing materials for the home Prepared desserts Dried vegetables Intercity bus fares Prepared ﬂour mixes Peanut butter Security services, owner Camping equipment Microwave ovens Tenant’s insurance Vehicle inspection Lamb, organ meats, and others Ofﬁce furniture for home use Dried fruit Whiskey at home Kitchen and dining room linens Repair and rental of lawn and garden equipment, hand or power tools, other household equipment Luggage Infants’ furniture Shopping club membership fees Hand tools Hair accessories Margarine Reupholstering, furniture repair Supportive and convalescent medical equipment Drivers’ license Rental of recreational vehicles Repair of computer systems for nonbusiness use Film Sewing machines Docking and landing fees Coal, wood, and other fuels Parking at owned home Radios Fireworks Alteration, repair, and tailoring of apparel and accessories Artiﬁcial sweeteners Portable heating and cooling equipment Stamp and coin collecting Tape recorders and players Winter sports equipment Repair of TV, radio, and sound equipment Water sports equipment Window air conditioners

$13.13 13.11 13.07 13.05 12.98 12.80 12.78 12.74 12.05 12.02 11.79 11.33 11.28 11.25 10.72 10.40 9.71 9.52 9.51 9.08 9.07 8.96 8.83 8.64 8.31 7.83 7.77 7.57 7.51 7.30 7.30 7.11 7.10 6.87 6.54 6.45 6.39 6.31 6.29 6.11 6.08 5.95 5.94 5.93 5.80 5.76 5.62 5.62 5.62 5.53 5.51 5.45

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 103

315. 316. 317. 318. 319. 320. 321. 322. 323. 324. 325. 326. 327. 328. 329. 330. 331. 332. 333. 334. 335. 336. 337. 338. 339. 340. 341. 342. 343. 344. 345. 346. 347. 348. 349. 350. 351. 352. 353. 354. 355. 356. 357. 358. 359. 360. 361. 362.

Sewing patterns and notions Towing charges Frozen fruit juice Flour Medical equipment for general use Slipcovers, decorative pillows Deductions for railroad retirement Playground equipment Bread and cracker products Watch and jewelry repair Flatware Personal digital assistants Frozen fruits Water softening service Safe deposit box rental Clocks Rental and repair of miscellaneous sports equipment Streaming and downloading audio School books, supplies, equipment for day care, nursery, other Delivery services Coin-operated household laundry and dry cleaning (nonclothing) Rental of furniture Business equipment for home use Septic tank cleaning Silver serving pieces Rental of medical equipment Smoking accessories Wigs and hairpieces Clothing rental Plastic dinnerware Pinball, electronic video games Credit card memberships Internet services away from home Appliance rental Global positioning services School bus Smoke alarms Shoe repair and other shoe service Repair and rental of photographic equipment Repair and rental of musical instruments Household nonclothing laundry and dry cleaning, sent out, not coin-operated Streaming and downloading video Satellite dishes Portable dishwasher Dating services Telephone answering devices Clothing storage Rental of television sets

$5.43 5.11 5.05 4.95 4.94 4.90 4.77 4.55 4.35 4.24 4.16 4.12 4.07 4.04 3.73 3.70 3.64 3.62 3.53 3.16 3.00 2.96 2.50 2.40 2.30 2.19 2.12 2.01 1.96 1.95 1.90 1.89 1.64 1.63 1.60 1.59 1.42 1.37 1.30 1.16 1.09 1.03 0.92 0.91 0.72 0.69 0.44 0.44

Source: Calculations by New Strategist based on the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey

104 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Glossary age The age of the reference person. alcoholic beverages Includes beer and ale, wine, whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, and other alcoholic beverages. annual spending The annual amount spent per household. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the annual average for all households in a segment, not just for those that purchased an item. The averages are calculated by integrating the results of the diary (weekly) and interview (quarterly) portions of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. For items purchased by most households—such as bread—average annual spending ﬁgures are a fairly accurate account of actual spending. For products and services purchased by few households during a year’s time—such as cars—the average annual amount spent is much less than what purchasers spend. apparel, accessories, and related services Includes the following: • men’s and boys’ apparel Includes coats, jackets, sweaters, vests, sport coats, tailored jackets, slacks, shorts and short sets, sportswear, shirts, underwear, nightwear, hosiery, uniforms, and other accessories. • women’s and girls’ apparel Includes coats, jackets, furs, sport coats, tailored jackets, sweaters, vests, blouses, shirts, dresses, dungarees, culottes, slacks, shorts, sportswear, underwear, nightwear, uniforms, hosiery, and other accessories. • infants’ apparel Includes coats, jackets, snowsuits, underwear, diapers, dresses, crawlers, sleeping garments, hosiery, footwear, and other accessories for children. • footwear Includes articles such as shoes, slippers, boots, and other similar items. It excludes footwear for babies and footwear used for sports such as bowling or golf shoes. • other apparel products and services Includes material for making clothes, shoe repair, alterations and sewing patterns and notions, clothing rental, clothing storage, dry cleaning, sent-out laundry, watches, jewelry, and repairs to watches and jewelry. baby boom Americans born between 1946 and 1964. cash contributions Includes cash contributed to persons or organizations outside the consumer unit including courtordered alimony, child support payments, and support for college students, and contributions to religious, educational, charitable, or political organizations. consumer unit (1) All members of a household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is ﬁnancially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who pool their income to make joint expenditure decisions. Financial independence is determined by the three major expense categories: housing, food, and other living expenses. To be considered ﬁnancially independent, at least two of the three major expense categories have to be provided by the respondent. For convenience, called household in the text of this report.

consumer unit, composition of The classiﬁcation of interview households by type according to (1) relationship of other household members to the reference person; (2) age of the children of the reference person; and (3) combination of relationship to the reference person and age of the children. Stepchildren and adopted children are included with the reference person’s own children. earner A consumer unit member aged 14 or older who worked at least one week during the twelve months prior to the interview date. education Includes tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment for public and private nursery schools, elementary and high schools, colleges and universities, and other schools. entertainment Includes the following: • fees and admissions Includes fees for participant sports; admissions to sporting events, movies, concerts, plays; health, swimming, tennis, and country club memberships, and other social recreational and fraternal organizations; recreational lessons or instructions; and recreational expenses on trips. • audio and visual equipment and services Includes television sets; radios; cable TV; tape recorders and players; video cassettes, tapes, and discs; video cassette recorders and video disc players; video game hardware and software; personal digital audio players; streaming and downloading audio and video; sound components; CDs, records, and tapes; musical instruments; and rental and repair of TV and sound equipment. • pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment Includes pet food, pet services, veterinary expenses, toys, games, hobbies, and playground equipment. • other entertainment equipment and services Includes indoor exercise equipment, athletic shoes, bicycles, trailers, campers, camping equipment, rental of cameras and trailers, hunting and ﬁshing equipment, sports equipment, winter sports equipment, water sports equipment, boats, boat motors and boat trailers, rental of boats, landing and docking fees, rental and repair of sports equipment, photographic equipment, ﬁlm, photo processing, photographer fees, repair and rental of photo equipment, ﬁreworks, pinball and electronic video games. expenditure The transaction cost including excise and sales taxes of goods and services acquired during the survey period. The full cost of each purchase is recorded even though full payment may not have been made at the date of purchase. Expenditure estimates include gifts. Excluded from expenditures are purchases or portions of purchases directly assignable to business purposes and periodic credit or installment payments on goods and services already acquired. federal income tax Includes federal income tax withheld in the survey year to pay for income earned in survey year plus additional tax paid in survey year to cover any underpayment or underwithholding of tax in the year prior to the survey. ﬁnancial products and services Includes accounting fees, legal fees, union dues, professional dues and fees, other occupational expenses, funerals, cemetery lots, dating services, shopping club memberships, and unclassiﬁed fees and personal services.

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 105

food Includes the following: • food at home Refers to the total expenditures for food at grocery stores or other food stores during the interview period. It is calculated by multiplying the number of visits to a grocery or other food store by the average amount spent per visit. It excludes the purchase of nonfood items. • food away from home Includes all meals (breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner) at restaurants, carry-outs, and vending machines, including tips, plus meals as pay, special catered affairs such as weddings, bar mitzvahs, and conﬁrmations, and meals away from home on trips. generation X Americans born between 1965 and 1976; also known as the baby-bust generation. gifts for people in other households Includes gift expenditures for people living in other consumer units. The amount spent on gifts is also included in individual product and service categories. health care Includes the following: • health insurance Includes health maintenance plans (HMOs), Blue Cross/Blue Shield, commercial health insurance, Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance, long-term care insurance, and other health insurance. • medical services Includes hospital room and services, physicians’ services, services of a practitioner other than a physician, eye and dental care, lab tests, X-rays, nursing, therapy services, care in convalescent or nursing home, and other medical care. • drugs Includes prescription and nonprescription drugs, internal and respiratory over-the-counter drugs. • medical supplies Includes eyeglasses and contact lenses, topicals and dressings, antiseptics, bandages, cotton, ﬁrst aid kits, contraceptives; medical equipment for general use such as syringes, ice bags, thermometers, vaporizers, heating pads; supportive or convalescent medical equipment such as hearing aids, braces, canes, crutches, and walkers. Hispanic origin The self-identiﬁed Hispanic origin of the consumer unit reference person. All consumer units are included in one of two Hispanic origin groups based on the reference person’s Hispanic origin: Hispanic or non-Hispanic. Hispanics may be of any race. household According to the Census Bureau, all the people who occupy a household. A group of unrelated people who share a housing unit as roommates or unmarried partners is also counted as a household. Households do not include group quarters such as college dormitories, prisons, or nursing homes. A household may contain more than one consumer unit. The terms “household” and “consumer unit” are used interchangeably in this report. household furnishings and equipment Includes the following: • household textiles Includes bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and other linens, curtains and drapes, slipcovers and decorative pillows, and sewing materials. • furniture Includes living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, nursery, porch, lawn, and other outdoor furniture. • carpet, rugs, and other ﬂoor coverings Includes installation and replacement of wall-to-wall carpets, room-size rugs, and other soft ﬂoor coverings.

106 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

• major appliances Includes refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, garbage disposals, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, air-conditioners, sewing machines, washing machines, clothes dryers, and ﬂoor-cleaning equipment. • small appliances and miscellaneous housewares Includes small electrical kitchen appliances, portable heating and cooling equipment, china and other dinnerware, ﬂatware, glassware, silver and other serving pieces, nonelectric cookware, and plastic dinnerware. Excludes personal care appliances. • miscellaneous household equipment Includes computer hardware and software, luggage, lamps and other lighting ﬁxtures, window coverings, clocks, lawn mowers and gardening equipment, hand and power tools, telephone answering devices, personal digital assistants, Internet services away from home, ofﬁce equipment for home use, fresh ﬂowers and house plants, rental of furniture, closet and storage items, household decorative items, infants’ equipment, outdoor equipment, smoke alarms, other household appliances, and small miscellaneous furnishing. household services Includes the following: • personal services Includes baby sitting, day care, and care of elderly and handicapped persons. • other household services Includes computer information services; housekeeping services; gardening and lawn care services; coin-operated laundry and dry-cleaning of household textiles; termite and pest control products; moving, storage, and freight expenses; repair of household appliances and other household equipment; reupholstering and furniture repair; rental and repair of lawn and gardening tools; and rental of other household equipment. housekeeping supplies Includes soaps, detergents, other laundry cleaning products, cleansing and toilet tissue, paper towels, napkins, and miscellaneous household products; lawn and garden supplies, postage, stationery, stationery supplies, and gift wrap. housing tenure “Owner” includes households living in their own homes, cooperatives, condominiums, or townhouses. “Renter” includes households paying rent as well as families living rent free in lieu of wages. income before taxes The total money earnings and selected money receipts accruing to a consumer unit during the 12 months prior to the interview date. Income includes the following components: • wages and salaries Includes total money earnings for all members of the consumer unit aged 14 or older from all jobs, including civilian wages and salaries, Armed Forces pay and allowances, piece-rate payments, commissions, tips, National Guard or Reserve pay (received for training periods), and cash bonuses before deductions for taxes, pensions, union dues, etc. • self-employment income Includes net business and farm income, which consists of net income (gross receipts minus operating expenses) from a profession or unincorporated business or from the operation of a farm by an owner, tenant, or sharecropper. If the business or farm is a partnership, only an appropriate share of net income is recorded. Losses are also recorded.

• Social Security, private and government retirement Includes payments by the federal government made under retirement, survivor, and disability insurance programs to retired persons, dependents of deceased insured workers, or to disabled workers; and private pensions or retirement beneﬁts received by retired persons or their survivors, either directly or through an insurance company. • interest, dividends, rental income, and other property income Includes interest income on savings or bonds; payments made by a corporation to its stockholders, periodic receipts from estates or trust funds; net income or loss from the rental of property, real estate, or farms, and net income or loss from roomers or boarders. • unemployment and workers’ compensation and veterans’ beneﬁts Includes income from unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation, and veterans’ payments including educational beneﬁts, but excluding military retirement. • public assistance, supplemental security income, and food stamps Includes public assistance or welfare, including money received from job training grants; supplemental security income paid by federal, state, and local welfare agencies to low-income persons who are aged 65 or older, blind, or disabled; and the value of food stamps obtained. • regular contributions for support Includes alimony and child support as well as any regular contributions from persons outside the consumer unit. • other income Includes money income from care of foster children, cash scholarships, fellowships, or stipends not based on working; and meals and rent as pay. indexed spending Indexed spending ﬁgures compare the spending of particular demographic segments with that of the average household. To compute an index, the amount spent on an item by a demographic segment is divided by the amount spent on the item by the average household. That ﬁgure is then multiplied by 100. An index of 100 is the average for all households. An index of 132 means average spending by households in a segment is 32 percent above average (100 plus 32). An index of 75 means average spending by households in a segment is 25 percent below average (100 minus 25). Indexed spending ﬁgures identify the consumer units that spend the most on a product or service. life and other personal insurance Includes premiums from whole life and term insurance; endowments; income and other life insurance; mortgage guarantee insurance; mortgage life insurance; premiums for personal life liability, accident and disability; and other non–health insurance other than homes and vehicles. market share The market share is the percentage of total household spending on an item that is accounted for by a demographic segment. Market shares are calculated by dividing a demographic segment’s total spending on an item by the total spending of all households on the item. Total spending on an item for all households is calculated by multiplying average spending by the total number of households. Total spending on an item for each demographic segment is calculated by multiplying the segment’s average spending by the number of

households in the segment. Market shares reveal the demographic segments that account for the largest share of spending on a product or service. millennial generation Americans born between 1977 and 1994. occupation The occupation in which the reference person received the most earnings during the survey period. The occupational categories follow those of the Census of Population. Categories shown in the tables include the following: • self-employed Includes all occupational categories; the reference person is self-employed in own business, professional practice, or farm. • wage and salary earners, managers and professionals Includes executives, administrators, managers, and professional specialties such as architects, engineers, natural and social scientists, lawyers, teachers, writers, health diagnosis and treatment workers, entertainers, and athletes. • wage and salary earners, technical, sales, and clerical workers Includes technicians and related support workers; sales representatives, sales workers, cashiers, and sales-related occupations; and administrative support, including clerical. • retired People who did not work either full- or part-time during the survey period. owner See housing tenure. pensions and Social Security Includes all Social Security contributions paid by employees; employees’ contributions to railroad retirement, government retirement and private pensions programs; retirement programs for self-employed. personal care Includes products for the hair, oral hygiene products, shaving needs, cosmetics, bath products, suntan lotions, hand creams, electric personal care appliances, incontinence products, other personal care products, personal care services such as hair care services (haircuts, bleaching, tinting, coloring, conditioning treatments, permanents, press, and curls), styling and other services for wigs and hairpieces, body massages or slenderizing treatments, facials, manicures, pedicures, shaves, electrolysis. quarterly spending Quarterly spending data are collected in the interview portion of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. The quarterly spending tables show the percentage of households that purchased an item during an average quarter, and the amount spent during the quarter on the item by purchasers. Not all items are included in the interview portion of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. reading Includes subscriptions for newspapers, magazines, and books through book clubs; purchase of single-copy newspapers and magazines, books, and encyclopedias and other reference books. reference person The ﬁrst member mentioned by the respondent when asked to “Start with the name of the person or one of the persons who owns or rents the home.” It is with respect to this person that the relationship of other consumer unit members is determined. Also called the householder or head of household.

WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 107

region Consumer units are classiﬁed according to their address at the time of their participation in the survey. The four major census regions of the United States are the following state groupings: • Northeast Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. • Midwest Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. • South Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. • West Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. renter See housing tenure. shelter Includes the following: • owned dwellings Includes interest on mortgages, property taxes and insurance, reﬁnancing and prepayment charges, ground rent, expenses for property management and security, homeowner’s insurance, ﬁre insurance and extended coverage, landscaping expenses for repairs and maintenance contracted out (including periodic maintenance and service contracts), and expenses of materials for owner-performed repairs and maintenance for dwellings used or maintained by the consumer unit, but not dwellings maintained for business or rent. • rented dwellings Includes rent paid for dwellings, rent received as pay, parking fees, maintenance, and other expenses. • other lodging Includes all expenses for vacation homes, school, college, hotels, motels, cottages, trailer camps, and other lodging while out of town. • utilities, fuels, and public services Includes natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, coal, bottled gas, wood, other fuels; residential telephone service, cell phone service, phone cards; water, garbage, trash collection; sewerage maintenance, septic tank cleaning; and other public services. size of consumer unit The number of people whose usual place of residence at the time of the interview is in the consumer unit. state and local income taxes Includes state and local income taxes withheld in the survey year to pay for income earned in survey year plus additional taxes paid in the survey year to cover any underpayment or underwithholding of taxes in the year prior to the survey. tobacco and smoking supplies Includes cigarettes, cigars, snuff, loose smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, and smoking accessories such as cigarette or cigar holders, pipes, ﬂints, lighters, pipe cleaners, and other smoking products and accessories. transportation Includes the following: • vehicle purchases (net outlay) Includes the net outlay (purchase price minus trade-in value) on new and used domestic and imported cars and trucks and other vehicles, including motorcycles and private planes.

108 WHO’S BUYING INFORMATION AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

• gasoline and motor oil Includes gasoline, diesel fuel, and motor oil. • other vehicle expenses Includes vehicle finance charges, maintenance and repairs, vehicle insurance, and vehicle rental licenses and other charges. • vehicle ﬁnance charges Includes the dollar amount of interest paid for a loan contracted for the purchase of vehicles described above. • maintenance and repairs Includes tires, batteries, tubes, lubrication, ﬁlters, coolant, additives, brake and transmission ﬂuids, oil change, brake adjustment and repair, front-end alignment, wheel balancing, steering repair, shock absorber replacement, clutch and transmission repair, electrical system repair, repair to cooling system, drive train repair, drive shaft and rear-end repair, tire repair, vehicle video equipment, other maintenance and services, and auto repair policies. • vehicle insurance Includes the premium paid for insuring cars, trucks, and other vehicles. • vehicle rental, licenses, and other charges Includes leased and rented cars, trucks, motorcycles, and aircraft, inspection fees, state and local registration, drivers’ license fees, parking fees, towing charges, tolls on trips, and global positioning services. • public transportation Includes fares for mass transit, buses, trains, airlines, taxis, private school buses, and fares paid on trips for trains, boats, taxis, buses, and trains. weekly spending Weekly spending data are collected in the diary portion of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. The data show the percentage of households that purchased an item during the average week, and the amount spent per week on the item by purchasers. Not all items are included in the diary portion of the Consumer Expenditure Survey.

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