How Did Consumer Electronics Spend the Holidays?

Most retail categories suffered; however, sales of notebook computers and flat-panel televisions both exceeded $2 billion in sales. No other segment brought in more than $1 billion in revenue. But the success of notebook computers did not extend to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company’s new operating system, Windows 8, did little to help holiday sales, as the year-long notebook sales decline continued. During the five-month holiday shopping season, Windows notebook sales dropped 11 percent, in line with the company’s Black Friday results. In comparison, Apple’s (NASDAQ:APPL) Macbook sales declined 6 percent.

In a press release detailing the firm’s findings, Baker made a grim assessment of the consumer electronics industry, stating that “the inability of the CE market to find substantial new pockets of revenue looms menacingly over the industry’s future.” The Consumer Electronics segment does not include Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindles, iPads, Surface Tablets, mobile phones, or video games.

Don’t Miss: Fiscal Cliff Side Effect: Online Sales Miss Estimate.