Charleston, S.C. – Weekend sales of TVs and computers were up about three percentage points year over year, a new consumer survey shows.
According to the poll, conducted this past weekend by America’s Research Group and Inmar Analytics, 10.5 percent of respondents purchased a TV over the Friday-Sunday period vs. 7.9 percent last year. Computers followed nearly the same pattern, with 10.3 percent reporting weekend purchases compared to 7.9 percent in 2012.
But despite the much ballyhooed introductions of the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms, video game sales slipped four percentage points, from 26.1 percent to 22 percent of respondents reporting a purchase.
Among the survey’s other key findings: about 31 percent said they have either completed or nearly completed their holiday shopping, the most in the last ten years. Among the holdouts, the majority (45.3 percent) say they’re waiting for a 70-percent-off sale.
“This year looks to be a more planned and, perhaps more personalized, Christmas with the majority of shoppers intent on staying within budgets that for most are smaller than last year,” observed Inmar president/executive VP, John Ross.
Walmart was the biggest winner last weekend. The world’s largest retailer was the most-shopped store over the three days, with 35.7 percent of respondents reporting a visit vs. 32 percent last year, although Sam’s Club and Target have enjoyed bigger year-long sales gains.
The weekend’s biggest loser was shopping malls, where visits fell from 28.5 percent to 24.2 percent of respondents.
The survey was based on 1,000 telephone interviews conducted Dec. 6-8 by America’s Research Group, a 30-year-old consumer research and strategic marketing firm, and Inmar Analytics, which connects on- and offline transactions in real time for retailers, manufacturers and other trading partners.
