Smartphones and Blu-ray players are killing off other gadgets as a retailer here says New Zealand is broadly following overseas consumer technology trends.
Jignesh Gajjar, of Smiths City in Christchurch, said customers were showing more interest in Blu-ray players, which had many times the data storage capacity of DVD players.
His store was virtually giving away DVD players, selling them on Boxing Day for just $20.
Digital photo frames were also on the way out. Mr Gajjar said smartphones and tablets were winning the race for customer dollars but the decline of digital photo frames was also partly due to fashion trends. Meanwhile, iPads and tablets were making laptops less popular.
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Advertise with NZME."Satnavs have dropped as well," Mr Gajjar said. On Boxing Day, the Smiths City shop sold a few satellite navigation units but Mr Gajjar said fewer people sought them as many smartphones had Google Maps.
He said new TV sets were selling well and customers wanted "bigger, better and sharper quality" televisions with ultra-high-definition units in demand.
Sales of recently arrived smartwatches were "picking up" but were mostly limited so far to gadget-lovers and fitness enthusiasts.
Mr Gajjar said New Zealand was keeping up with consumer trends in other developed countries.
