Technology fair
Tech industry expects slower growth at the start of the CES
Few people attend the usually overcrowded start-up show “CES Unveiled” at the CES technology fair. Photo: Andrej Sokolow / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The technology fair is overshadowed by the Omikron variant – with fewer participants and premieres. In addition, ongoing problems in supply chains threaten to stifle the recent rapid growth of the industry.
At the start of the technology fair CES in Las Vegas, there is a bad mood. After explosive growth in the corona pandemic, the industry is preparing for slow growth in business with consumers.
The US industrial association CTA expects sales in the important home market for this year to increase by 2.8 percent to 505 billion dollars (445.8 billion euros). In 2021, sales had increased by 9.6 percent.
The CES will take place this year without many large exhibitors such as Intel, Google or General Motors, who decided against participating at short notice due to the spread of the Omikron variant.
The CTA association, as the CES organizer, nevertheless stuck to the show in Las Vegas and referred to the interests of many small and medium-sized companies that had already invested in their trade fair presence. But for many of them, too, the trip to CES seemed too risky. At the start-up event “CES Unveiled”, which young companies like to use as a springboard for media attention, many of the otherwise coveted places remained empty.
Various innovations are now presented online
Various innovations that would normally have had a big stage at CES were presented online. For example, the electric research car Vision EQXX from Mercedes, which is expected to have a range of more than 1000 kilometers on one battery charge. Other European companies such as the French fitness technology specialist Withings, on the other hand, are present at CES.
The growth in sales in the industry will be slowed in the current year mainly by the hardware business, which continues to suffer from bottlenecks in the supply chains. According to the CTA forecast, business with devices in the USA will only grow by two percent – after nine percent in 2021. For software and online services, growth is likely to fall from 11.4 to 6 percent.
CTA research director Steve Koenig referred above all to the shortage of chips, which is making the automotive industry difficult to create. At the same time, he was confident that the demand for technology products would remain high in the long term. Because people have resorted to computers and online services much more since the pandemic – and this change will outlast the corona crisis.
Despite the cancellation of many tech heavyweights, more than 2200 exhibitors are still represented on site, emphasizes the CTA. And in the past two weeks, 143 new companies have joined the company despite Omikron. After the cancellations, however, the show was shortened by one day and now closes on Friday.