Arlington, Va. –
Electronics were among the most popular items purchased this weekend, as more
consumers bought electronics this Thanksgiving weekend than last year,
according to interim results from a new survey from the Consumer Electronics
Association (CEA) and Caravan.
In a study
released late on Saturday, CE was found to be the most purchased category this
Black Friday weekend, increasing in popularity over last year. Among those who
went shopping on Friday, 58 percent bought some type of consumer electronic
product, second only to clothing.
In comparison, 54
percent of Americans purchased CE products during last year’s Thanksgiving
weekend. CEA’s 17th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study showed consumer
electronics were among the most wanted gifts of any kind this holiday. On
average, the study showed the average consumer will spend $232 on CE this year,
up 5 percent from last year and the highest figure in the history of the
study.
Consumers hit
stores over the weekend in search of deals and special Black Friday promotions.
Consistent with CEA’s holiday forecast, the most popular electronics shoppers
purchased this weekend were portable MP3 players; video game consoles and
accessories; and computers, including notebooks and tablets.
Nearly half of
those surveyed had plans of shopping this weekend, with roughly 27 percent of
U.S. adults having already shopped as of Friday. Mass merchants were the most
popular shopping destination for not only electronics, but all gifts. More than
three out of four (78 percent) of those surveyed shopped at a mass merchant,
with those stores also being the most popular for electronics purchases. Online
retailers were also a winner this weekend. Fifty-three percent of consumers who
purchased electronics on Thursday purchased online, saying they found the same
or better deals as at retail stores.
CEA’s 2010 Black
Friday Survey presents the interim findings of a telephone survey conducted
among two national probability samples, which, when combined, consists of 568
adults — 283 men and 285 women — 18 years of age and older, living in the
continental United States. Interviewing for this Caravan Survey was completed
on November 26, 2010. CEA said 469
interviews were from the landline sample and 99 interviews from the cellphone
sample.
CEA is gathering
more information with a complete report to follow.
TWICE will hold a
Black Friday webinar with a full report from The NPD Group on Wednesday, Dec. 8,
at 2:00 p.m. EST with TWICE senior editor Alan Wolf, Stephen Baker of NPD, Jim
Ristow of Home Entertainment Source and Warren Chaiken of Almo.
for
more information on the webinar and to register.
