25% of U.S. Adults Have Made a Tech Purchase in the Last Few Weeks

For many Americans, working from home has become the new normal and may continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. As a result, tech has come to the forefront as a necessary part of staying connected and getting the job done. As this reality sets in for the long haul, it may be impacting the way U.S. adults purchase tech items. 

CivicScience asked more than 3,100 U.S. adults about their experience with purchasing tech or tech-related products in the last few weeks. As the data show, 25% have made a purchase, suggesting that this could very well be a growing trend.

Tech Purchases to Work From Home

The largest group of those making tech purchases are adults aged 18-24. This may not necessarily be surprising, as this group may not have had a reason to invest as heavily in tech gadgets pre-pandemic.

Of those who have been working remotely as a result of the pandemic, 24% have recently made a tech purchase–strengthening the suggestion above that some of these purchases may be to better outfit a makeshift home office. 

Top 3 Quarantine Tech Purchases

As the data show, U.S. adults are primarily purchasing cables or connectors, headphones or earphones–potentially for blocking out the sounds of kids, pets, and spouses– and computers or tablets.

Planning to Purchase?

In the last month, 6% of U.S. adults have already purchased a computer or tablet–primarily high-income earners. However, 11% of respondents plan to purchase a laptop in the future. 

This could be good news for big tech companies in the coming months, as 34% of those who plan to purchase a laptop are shopping more online than they typically would for this time of year.

Those favorable towards Best Buy are especially interested in purchasing a laptop in the future. 

And when it comes to the type of laptop, PCs may be the hot ticket for the time being.

As it stands, tech purchases are still extremely relevant to those who now work from home. While cables and headphones are some of the most popular purchases, laptops–especially PCs–could see an upswing in the near future.