Cordless Mice And Keyboards Could Be Popular Gifts For The Holidays

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, October 5, 2000 – As high ticket wireless devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants experience explosive growth in sales, cordless input devices are also on the move. According to leading marketing information provider NPD INTELECT Market Tracking, retail sales of cordless keyboards and mice in August 2000 were up 133% and 125% respectively in unit terms over same time last year.

According to NPD INTELECT, cordless keyboard and mice unit sales have more than doubled in August 2000 compared to same time last year. Notably, December unit sales for cordless keyboards more than tripled those sold in August 1999. Sales for cordless mice almost quadrupled in units sold in August 2000, suggesting cordless input devices will become a hot holiday item.

As sales volumes for cordless keyboards and mice increase, prices for these items continue to decrease. According to NPD INTELECT, the average price of cordless keyboards slipped from $87 in August 1999 to $80 this past August. An even steeper decline was seen in the average price of cordless mice, which fell from $52 in August 1999 to $38 in August 2000.

"This cordless movement is very exciting for manufacturers because in ‘100% replacement’ categories such as keyboards and mice (meaning that everyone already has one), it takes something different to make a consumer get up, go out, and purchase a new one, while throwing away a perfectly good functional one. This is now happening with cordless mice and keyboards,and we anticipate a strong holiday season for these devices," commented Sima Vasa, NPD INTELECT vice president of technology products.

NPD INTELECT market share data show key players differ by product with the exception of Logitech, which ranked number one in unit and dollar shares for both cordless keyboards and mice. Interestingly, private or store brands came in second in both unit and dollar shares for cordless keyboards. In the cordless mice category, private or store brands followed Microsoft, making it the number three brand in unit and dollar shares.