Consumers will spend $1.7 trillion on tech this year, IDC predicts

And purchases of traditional and emerging tech will hit $2.06 trillion in 2023, the firm predicts.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter

Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.

Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials

Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.

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Abrar Al-Heeti

Oct. 11, 2019 3:26 p.m. PT

2 min read

dollars-money-bills-currency-5 — Consumers will spend 5.3% more on tech this year than last year, IDC says.
Angela Lang/CNET

Consumer spending on tech will hit $1.69 trillion in 2019, according to a Friday forecast from market researcher IDC. That's an increase of 5.3% over last year. Further, purchases of traditional and emerging tech will stay strong throughout the five-year forecast period, reaching $2.06 trillion in 2023, IDC says.

Around 75% of consumer tech spending this year will go toward traditional technologies like mobile phones and computers, according to IDC. Mobile telecom services like voice and data will make up more than half of spending throughout the forecast. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of spending on traditional technologies will be 2.2% over the forecast period.

Emerging technologies such as AR/VR headsets, drones , wearables and smart home devices, on the other hand, will have a five-year CAGR of 13.2%, IDC predicts. These kinds of technologies will make up around a third of consumer spending by 2023. Smart home devices and on-demand services will make up around 90% of spending on emerging technologies.

"Advances in technology continue to drive what 'convenience' means today and in the future for connected consumers," Stacey Soohoo, research manager with IDC's Customer Insights & Analysis group, said in a statement. "Ranging from consumer robots for household cleaning and maintenance to smart lighting or home security/monitoring systems, connected consumers are adopting these solutions in their homes and everyday lives as they go through their own digital transformation."

Communication and entertainment will make up more than 70% of all spending throughout the forecast, IDC says. Over half of spending on communication will go toward voice and messaging services, while entertainment spending will go toward listening to music, downloading and playing online games, and watching or downloading TV, videos and movies. AR games and VR video/feature viewing will see the fastest spending growth over the five-year period, with a CAGR of 136.3% and 47.3%, respectively.

In the US, consumer tech spending is predicted to reach $412 billion in 2019, an increase of 5.5% over last year. Spending in China is expected to hit $328 billion, and it'll reach $227 billion in Western Europe, IDC says. The two biggest categories in all three regions will be mobile telecom services and phones.