Consumer electronics are electronic (analog or digital) devices typically found in private homes for everyday use. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communication, and entertainment. Since many products come in black or dark casings, they are often referred to as black goods. This term is used to distinguish them from "white goods", which are used for cleaning, such as washing machines and refrigerators, although these days these are considered black goods, some of which are connected to the Internet. In British English, producers and sellers often refer to them as brown goods. In the 2010s, this distinction didn't exist in the big-box consumer electronics stores, which sold both entertainment, communications, and home office equipment and kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators.

Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the radio receiver. Later products included telephones, televisions and calculators, then audio and video recorders and players, game consoles, personal computers, and MP3 players. In the 2010s, consumer electronics stores often sold GPS, car electronics (car stereos), video game consoles, electronic musical instruments (such as synth keyboards), karaoke machines, digital cameras and video players (1980s and 1990s VCR), through DVD players and Blu-ray players. The store also sells smart appliances, digital cameras, video cameras, cell phones and smartphones. Some of the new products on sale include virtual reality head-mounted display goggles, smart home devices that connect home devices to the Internet and wearable technology.

In the 2010s, most consumer electronics were already based on digital technology and, in what is increasingly known as the consumerization of information technology, was largely integrated with the computer industry. Some consumer electronics stores have also started selling office and baby furniture. Consumer electronics stores may be brick-and-mortar retail stores, online stores, or a combination of the two.