Research: No Political Divide on Consumer Electronics

Tech spending and ownership of devices is similar for Republicans and Democrat, according to CEA

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/5/2012 3:27:06 PM

Americans may be more divided than ever along partisan political lines, but both Democrats and Republicans seems to share a love of technology and consumer electronics (CE) devices according to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) that found similar levels of ownership and purchasing plans for both parties.

The study found slight overall differences in spending, with Democrats spending $779 on CE products during the past year and Republicans $747, and some variation in the types of products they own, with Republicans reporting higher levels of ownership of smartphones, digital cameras, HDTVs and laptops.

But some CE products, such as cellphones and portable MP3 players, showed no partisan shift between Democrats or Republicans. And, very importantly, the differences in ownership rates or spending disappeared when household size, income and other variables were taken into account.

Overall the study found that "after holding other variables constant, only TV ownership rates remain statistically different between self-identifying Republicans (99% ownership) and Democrats (97% ownership)."

"Despite all the potential things that can divide us as a country, the one thing that Democrats and Republicans clearly agree on is technology," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA in a statement. "Technology and innovation unite us as a country. Our results make clear that despite many political differences, tech spending and CE ownership is largely uninfluenced by political party affiliation."

The data also showed little difference in holiday shopping plans. "Members of both parties plan to start their holiday shopping around Black Friday weekend," the CEA reported. "Shoppers associating with both parties plan to allocate a similar amount of money to technology gifts" and "party affiliation also had no impact on holiday wish lists," with Democrats and Republicans equally likely to give smartphones, tablets and other devices.

In terms of their shopping habits, respondents from both parties were also equally likely to shop online and to look for promotions on social media sites.

The data was collected from CEA's 14th Annual Household CE Ownership and Market Potential Study (April 2012), which was conducted between Jan. 26-30, 2012, and CEA's 19th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study (October 2012), which was conducted in September 2012.