American consumers will spend a record-breaking $537 billion on new apps, devices and gadgets in 2025, according to New year forecast From the Consumer Technology Association.
But there's a catch, warned CTA futurist Brian Comiskey on stage Monday at the group's massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: Trump's proposed tariff plan, which would raise costs for U.S. consumers, could offset much of that cost.
The CTA is “projecting that 2025 will be record retail revenue for the US consumer technology industry” with 3.2% growth over 2024. However, Comiskey cautioned that those estimates could change because “smartphones and laptops are threatened by President-elect Trump's tariff proposal. Tariffs on technology products could cost a $90-$143 billion — billion with a B — loss of U.S. purchasing power,” he said.
in October, CTA released a report That saw two tariff proposals in particular: a 10% or 20% tariff on all imports from all countries, and a 60% tariff on all imports from China.
It concluded that these proposals could increase the price of laptops and tablets by 46%, video game consoles by 40% and smartphones by 26%.
On stage, Comiskey offered additional color, explaining that “spending on tablets and laptops could be reduced by up to 68%, gaming consoles by 58% and smartphones by 37%.”
Without such tariffs, the consumer technology industry is headed for a spending “super cycle,” as Comiskey calls it. That's partly because only newer PCs, tablets, and smartphones can access new AI-powered features like Apple Intelligence or Microsoft Copilot+ on PCs. CTA's research indicates that consumers want those features Most consumers say they are familiar with generative AI, and many say they already use it at work.
Meanwhile, AI is juicing out of many classic consumer tech categories as well Fitness tracker On Smart TV (Like a newly announced product from Google), in parent technologies such as electronics Baby rockers.
It doesn't matter if the AI in these products really makes the gadget worthwhile. The final thing that points to 2025 as a big year for gadgets is Gen Z's increasing purchasing power. In 2025, 27% of the global workforce is expected to be Gen Z, Udemy predictions. This is the generation that mostly likes new technology and enjoys being early adopters.