Britons carry over £22bn worth of electronic devices, up almost £10bn compared to five years ago, a new study has revealed.
The report, conducted by retail research specialist Conlumino and commissioned by Affinion International, found that the UK owns more than £50bn worth of hi-tech devices, which is equivalent to the GDP of Ecuador.
The research revealed that UK households collectively spend about £9bn per year on new devices – mainly tablets and smartphones.
The high value of gadgets means that consumers are at risk of losing money through damage, loss and theft.
The total cost of gadget disasters hit £1.2bn last year, with 17% of gadget owners reporting they have broken at least one of their gadgets in the past year, according to the report.
About 4% said they had their device stolen and another 4% said they had lost their device.
Affinion International Northern Europe senior VP Giles Desforges said Britain is clearly a nation in love with its gadgets, with people willing to spend remarkable amounts of money on new devices.
"This spending can be expected to increase steadily as technology continues to advance and new must-have items come onto the market," Desforges said.
"What many may find eye-opening is just how much consumers are set back every year as a result of uninsured lost, stolen and broken devices."
The report stresses that despite the rise in costs incurred by users from damage, loss and theft of gadgets, only some of them have their devices insured, with two thirds of gadget owners having no insurance at all, translating to £33bn worth of uninsured gadgets.
