Down 6% in 2011, that's where, according to the NPD Group
Click to enlarge.
If it weren't for tablets and mobile phones, 2011 would have been a miserable year for the U.S. consumer electronics industry.
Total U.S. retail sales for the year were $144 billion, down 1% from 2010, according to a report issued Monday by the NPD Group.
That might not sound too bad. But sales of PCs, TVs and video game hardware were all down, and sales of mobile phone hardly grew at all.
Only tablets experienced robust growth -- accounting for 10.7% of U.S. consumer electronic sales, up from 5.1% in 2010. And because nearly all those tablets were iPads --and a lot of those mobiles phones were iPhones -- Apple (AAPL) single-handedly saved the industry from what would have otherwise been, according to NPD, a humiliating 6% decline.
"U.S. hardware sales growth is becoming harder and harder to achieve at the broad industry level," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "Sales outside of the top five categories fell by 8 percent in 2011 as consumers shifted spending from older technologies to a narrow range of products."
NPD's press release went on to single out Apple:
"Apple benefited from this shift as it was the leading consumer electronics brand for the second year in a row. Among the top five brands Apple was the only one to experience a sales increase, posting a 36 percent rise over 2010. By the critical fourth quarter Apple accounted for 19 percent of all sales dollars, almost twice as much as number two Hewlett-Packard."
Below: NPD's spreadsheet comparing the growth (and decline) of the top five U.S. brands.
Between October and Christmas, Apple's U.S. sales nearly caught up to Android's
Click to enlarge. Source: Nielsen
Three findings stand out in Nielsen's December survey of the U.S. mobile phone market, released Wednesday:
Among recent smartphone buyers, 44.5% of those surveyed in December bought an Apple (AAPL) iPhone, up from 25.1% in October
57% of new iPhone buyers said they chose the iPhone 4S over the less expensive iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS
Android's MORE
Apple's U.S. MacBook sales came in softer than expected in December, according to NPD
MacBook Air. Photo: Apple Inc.
In a note to clients issued Tuesday, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster offered his analysis of the NPD Group's final PC retail sales data for 2011.
The news, as he sees is, is good and bad.
Domestic Mac unit sales were up 12% for the quarter, according to NPD, which isn't bad given that sales MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 17, 2012 8:08 AM ET
Apple's (AAPL) share of the U.S. smartphone market nearly caught up to Google's (GOOG) Android in the first two months of the fourth quarter, according to a new report from the NPD Group.
Apple's market share jumped from 26% in Q3 to 43% in October and November while Android's fell from 60% to 47%.
Underscoring Apple's strength going into the holiday sales period, the company had the three best-selling smartphones -- the MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 9, 2012 4:16 PM ET
PC sales were down 8% Thanksgiving week, but demand for the MacBook Air was strong
Click to enlarge.
In a note to clients Thursday, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty rattled off several reasons to explain why retail sales of personal computers in the U.S. were down 8% year over year for the week of Nov. 20 to 26, as reported by the NPD Group.
Hard drive shortages, the lingering effects of flooding in MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 9, 2011 6:16 AM ET
What manufacturers are going to give Apple's iPad a run for the money?
Data: NPD, Jan-Oct. 2011. Chart: PED
For reasons known only unto itself, the NPD group saw fit Tuesday to issue a press release reporting on U.S. sales of tablets excluding the market's 400-pound gorilla: Apple's (AAPL) iPad.
"If you look at the tablet market without Apple there are a number of high-profile brands vying for that number two spot," said MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 22, 2011 2:01 PM ET
While the rest of the PC industry lost ground, Apple's computer sales were growing
Photo: Apple Inc.
Once again, Mac sales zigged while PCs zagged.
In a note to clients Monday afternoon, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster summarized data from the NPD Group for the last quarter:
In the month of March, U.S. Mac sales were up 47% year over year, driven by the new MacBook Pros that started shipping Feb. 24.
That 47% uptick MORE
As part of their CTIA package, NPD group posted some positive numbers for Android and its vendors.
Source: NPD group
Taiwan's HTC overtook Apple (AAPL) and RIM (RIMM) to become the leading manufacturer of US smartphones in Q4 2010 according to a report by NPD Group.
HTC's share of the US Market crossed 20% while BlackBerry and Apple slipped to 19%. Motorola(MMI) rounded out the top four at 16%. Samsung, LG, Nokia(NOK), MORE
Seth Weintraub - Mar 22, 2011 12:17 PM ET
Is there an ARMDroid Dualopoly on the horizon?
In the biggest news item about Android market share since this morning, NPD group announced that in the US, Google's (GOOG) Android now outsells all of its competitors, combined. It is important to note that NPD's data doesn't track corporate/enterprise mobile phone purchases, so RIM's(RIMM) Blackberry and to a lesser extent Apple's (AAPL) iPhone may be under-represented. But for people who have a choice MORE
Seth Weintraub - Jan 31, 2011 1:05 PM ET
The cult favorite sandwich, hovering on the border between yum and yuck, won't mean much to McDonald's bottom line. But it's moving the needle on the company's brand awareness, especially in social media.
Wondering what a McRib, McDonald's barbecue pork sandwich, tastes like, but haven't quite worked up the steam to go out and try one? Just ask the Internet:
"It's fast food's best version of comfort food." "I'll take an order MORE
Beth Kowitt, Writer-Reporter - Nov 17, 2010 11:51 AM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
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