OTTAWA – Canadians increasingly see connectivity as part of their daily lives, as the sale of smartphones, fitness trackers and smart home devices skyrocketed over the past year, says a new study by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).
The report, ‘Consumer Technology Ownership and Market Potential Study in Canada’, examines ownership and purchase intent of consumer technology products among Canadian households across video, audio, automotive, computer, gaming, communications and emerging tech categories. A random national sample of 1,000 Canadian adults completed a telephone survey between July 13 and 20, 2017.
When it comes to overall ownership, three screens continue to dominate the Canadian consumer tech market. According to CTA's study, nearly all Canadian households (96%) own a television, while a majority own a smartphone (80%) or notebook computer (73%). Cellphone use (34%) now edges out landline use (30%) among Canadian households that use one or the other exclusively, while another third of Canadian households (34%) say that they use both landlines and cellphones.
"We all know Canadians love their smartphones, but we're also seeing Canadians embrace a wide range of innovative technologies to further enhance their digital lifestyles”, said CTA’s senior director of market research Steve Koenig, in the report’s news release. "Smart home devices in particular saw amazing growth, with household adoption up eight percentage points over the past year. And more Canadians are discovering the health benefits of wearable technology, as fitness trackers saw a six percent jump in ownership."
The CTA study also identified distinct tech ownership trends across provinces and regions in Canada:
Western Canada: Alberta leads the country in 13 categories of consumer tech adoption, including smartphones and smart home devices. One in three households in Manitoba and Saskatchewan owns a portable gaming system, the highest rate of ownership for these devices.
Ontario: More Ontario households own tablets (68%) and e-readers (34%), and the province leads the country in adoption of 'other' smart home devices (20%) beyond smart thermostats and cameras.
Quebec: Automotive technologies such as Bluetooth hands-free devices are most desirable among Quebecers, with one in five Quebec households owning a dash cam.
Atlantic Canada: This area leads the country in the ownership of wearable fitness trackers (37%) and videogame consoles (56%).
Other highlights from the report include:
– One in four Canadian households expects to purchase a smartphone in the next 12 months, 92% of whom are repeat buyers;
– Among Canadian households considering a purchase of a smart thermostat, action camcorder or virtual reality headset, 90% will be buying one for the first time; and
– Based on the ownership data, 400,000 Canadian households now own a drone.
The complete study is available free for CTA member companies at members.CTA.tech. Non-members may purchase the study in the CTA store.
