Hundreds of Chinese businesses have had to give CES 2023 a miss due to COVID outbreaks and travel restrictions, resulting in the size of the US event being “Reduced by half” according to show organizers with the West Hall shutting down altogether.
Despite this several major brands are exhibiting at this year’s event with hundreds more taking to delivering presentations by appointment in hotel suites. The absence of Chinese brands has allowed organizers to expand floor space areas for major CE brands who are exhibiting.
At CES Unveiled overnight, CTA executive revealed there are currently, 2,200 exhibitors signed up, half the number of the last pre-pandemic show, CES 2020.
According to CTA CEO Gary Shapiro, the discrepancy is largely the loss of smaller Chinese companies impacted by both Covid restrictions as well as ongoing geopolitical issues. Shapiro did note that there is usually a December exhibitor signup boost “so we really don’t know where we’ll end up.” CTA expects more than 100,000 attendees, still well shy of the 175,000 who came to CES in 2020.
Among the new and emerging tech categories will be brands showing innovations in health and wellness including sleep tech, mental health technology, telehealth, remote patient monitoring, over-the-counter hearing aids, and digital therapeutics, “new and improved ways that folks can really embrace and manage their chronic conditions at home,” explained CTA director of research Lesley Rohrbaugh.
Other categories that will be highlighted at CES 2023 will be “ingredient” technologies such as 5G, the cloud, AI, sensors, cyber security, sustainability, and robotics, along with AR/VR, gaming and esports, fintech, autonomous vehicles in West Hall, and Food Tech at the Venetian.
At the 2023 event all the keynotes will be live-streamed, as will a wider selection of conference sessions.
Access to these recordings will double from 30 to 60 days after the show.
Exhibitors will also have a larger tool kit to enable virtual attendees to browse booths, get information, and make contact.
Rohrbaugh claimed that “enthusiasm for purchasing tech is hitting an all-time high,” and that CTA was expecting nearly eight in 10 holiday shoppers, 86% of early holiday shoppers, were planning to purchase some sort of tech item on which they would spend an average of $560.
Rohrbaugh says 23% more consumers plan to shop on Black Friday than last year, and 20% more on Cyber Monday.
How consumers will shop and pay is changing as well; 47% are going to shop online before going to stores, and 20% will pay using digital systems such as Apple Pay.
First on the planning to purchase list was video streaming services. While not exactly something that can be gift-wrapped in a box, a video-streaming gift subscription was something almost half of US adults this year are planning to buy. Additionally, more than a third of US adults plan to purchase a content-related gift within the general gaming or audio categories, including Spotify or Pandora subscriptions.
Smart home devices – especially security devices – are also high on consumer buying lists, as well as the usual smartphones. This year, however, about 30% of smartphone buyers will look at foldable models. Adults want gifts with screens – smartphones, TVs, laptop PCs – but are actually planning to buy a variety of accessories, headphones, earbuds, and other peripheral devices.
Rohrbaugh called out video games and esports being high on gift lists. According to Rohrbaugh, $61 billion was spent on video gaming, there will be a 15% rise in the number of global esports viewers this year, and 61% of consumers spend money on mobile gaming.
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