Emerging technology is about to drive the U.S. consumer technology industry to $351 billion in retail sales this year, 4% higher than last year, according to new industry research.

As a kickoff to the opening of every annual CES mega-event in Las Vegas, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) lays out its semi-annual research showing what the market looks like for the next year, and this year appears to be a blockbuster in the making.

One of the hot growth areas is smart speakers.

Sales of voice-controlled speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home increased 279% last year and are projected to reach sales of 44 million units this year, a 60% increase. Revenue from the devices is projected to reach $4 billion this year, growth of 93% from last year.

Smart speaker sales are projected to grow even more later, to 57 million units being sold next year.

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Consumer spending on music and video streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV, is projected to pass $19 billion this year, 35% higher than last year.

Steve Koenig, senior director, research, at CTA, who presented the forecast to a packed arena at Mandalay Bay, said the smart speaker market is the hot category to watch for the year.

Smart speakers also will have a ripple effect on smart homes, as consumers discover the benefits of voice-activated automation, according to CTA, which projects sales in the category to reach 41 million units this year, earning more than $4 billion, a 34% increase.

Sales increases in other IoT categories were projected as well.

Virtual reality headset shipments are projected to grow to 5 million units this year, drone sales to reach 4 million units and wearables to reach sales of 49 million units.

《資匯》獨家專訪FPI 《2大因素前景看好 台灣聯友今年再尋突破》

4 Reasons to invest in FPI (Insider Asia)

Growth + Net Cash + Dividend = the DNA of FPI (Harry)

FPI core product's market size grow more than 24% CAGR by 2021 (Technavio)

FPI - Company Evaluation Report (赤資本 Cerise Capital)

FPI tuned in to upbeat musical instruments market (Focus Malaysia)

FPI - Sound of Music (CIMB's Walter Aw)