Is CES for soccer moms?
Ben Leet, a senior consultant at British market research firm, seems to think so. Walking through the showroom at CES, Leet was unable to find anything "startling or life changing." Nothing jumped out at him as particularly noteworthy because, he says, the show is "going mainstream." The New York Times elaborates and goes so far as to say that CES is not aimed at "the guys down the street with the latest gadgets, but at the soccer moms with an eye for a bargain." Gadget manufacturers, according to them, are not as concerned with creating revolutionary devices than with slashing prices. And with sales of consumer electronics increasing 13% in 2006 from the previous year and an estimated 25 gadgets in every home, could they be right?
I don’t follow general sales trends, but I still think that companies are trying to one-up with each other by releasing better products with more features, often at higher prices. Many consumers believe in the "you get what you pay for" addage and are willing to pay premium prices for premium products (or at least good products stamped with premium brands). Just look at all the hype surrounding the iPhone and count how many times Steve Jobs used some variation of the word "revolutionize" in his keynote speech.
CES aimed at soccer moms? I don’t think so.
