Consumer-Electronics Shopping Grows Online

Online shopping for consumer electronics is gaining in popularity, with some product categories reaching more than 10 percent of total sales on the Internet, an industry trade group said Wednesday.

On average, 5 percent of consumer electronics are purchased online, the Consumer Electronics Association said. Those categories with more than 10 percent of sales through online channels include personal computers, digital cameras, wireless home-networking devices and portable music players.

A CEA survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults also found that shoppers who bought electronics online reported higher satisfaction with the purchase process than those who visited traditional brick-and-mortar stores. This was due to the convenience of online shopping, order accuracy and product variety, availability and information.

More than half of online shoppers also claimed store-brand loyalty in their purchases, versus only 37 percent of traditional shoppers.

The CEA also found that consumers who buy at least some of their CE products online spend 67 percent more each year than people who don't make any CE purchases through the Internet. On average, online buyers spent $1,500 on consumer electronics each year, with 29 percent of that on the web.