Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) became the third largest consumer tech retailer in the U.S. during 2012. However, the sales of its products made up the biggest portion of revenue on consumer technology items, according to the latest report from The NPD Group.
The report indicates that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s products made up about 20 percent of all the consumer tech sales in the U.S. That number is based on last year’s revenue, and it’s an increase from the 17 percent market share the company logged in 2011.
It’s no surprise that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94), which makes up the lion’s share of the mobile market share along with Apple, came in second. Samsung however, had just 9 percent of the consumer technology revenue in the U.S.
Both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) increased their market share of the consumer tech industry in 2012, while the rest of the companies in the industry saw a combined decline in sales of about $9.5 billion. Apple and Samsung together had about a $6.5 billion increase in sales during 2012.
The NPD Group also reports that overall retail consumer technology sales fell 2 percent during 2012. In the year before, they declined less than 1 percent.
The report indicated that revenue from the tablet market grew 42 percent in 2012. Tablets were still the leading product in consumer electronics, although revenue from that part of the market dropped from the previous year’s growth of 135 percent.
Second behind tablets was smartphones, which saw 25 percent revenue growth during 2012. Revenue from notebook computers, flat panel television sets, and desktop computers fell during the year.
According to the report, the top retailers in consumer technology were Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS).
