Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

CEA Forecasts Strong Demand For CE For Holiday Gift Giving

SAN FRANCISCO —

This holiday
season, spending on consumer
electronics gifts will reach historic
highs, despite an overall decline in
gift spending, according to new research
released by the Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA).

CEA unveiled the 17th Annual CE
Holiday Purchase Patterns Study last
month at CEA’s Industry Forum in San
Francisco.

Consumer electronics will once
again be the “hottest” gifts, both to
give and to receive, this holiday season.
Overall, consumers will spend
$750 on holiday gifts, down 2 percent
from last year. They will, however,
spend more on CE gifts than ever before.
Consumers will spend $232 on
CE gifts, up 5 percent from last year
and the highest level since CEA began
tracking holiday spending. Nearly
a third of consumers’ total gift budgets
will be allocated to CE. When
it comes to spending, nearly half will
buy a CE gift for children on their list,
two in five will buy a CE gift for their
spouse/significant other and 29 percent
will buy CE for themselves.

 “Giving electronics as a holiday gift,
either to a loved one or to yourself, is
more popular than ever,” said Steve
Koenig, CEA’s industry analysis director.
“Not only are three in four adults
planning to give CE as a gift this year,
but more consumers want electronics
as a gift for themselves, demonstrating
that electronics will be the musthave
gifts of the season.”

Three of the top five, and four of the
top 10, items on adults overall holiday
gift wish list are electronics. Notebook/
laptop computers and Apple’s iPad ranked second and third on the
list respectively, trailing only peace
and happiness. E-readers and video
game systems ranked fifth and ninth,
respectively. Among adults’ holiday
CE wish lists, notebooks, the iPad
and e-readers topped the list.

“Many innovative products new to
the market are high on the gift list this
year,” said Koenig. “Consumers want
the newest technologies, and stores
that stock these products on their
shelves will fare well this holiday season.”

Overall, consumers will each spend
an average of $1,412 this holiday on
everything from gifts and decorations
to travel and food. That’s up 3 percent
from last year, but still below recent
historical levels as consumers remain
guarded. Nearly seven out of 10 consumers
said they are adjusting holiday
spending due to economic concerns,
with a third reducing expenditures for
reasons related to unemployment.

“While the recession officially ended
a year and a half ago, consumers remain
very cautious this holiday,” said
Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s chief economist
and research director. “Worries
remain over the economy and employment
picture, but there is optimism.
Consumers will spend more this holiday
than last, with one in five planning
to increase their holiday budget compared
to last year.”

The 17th Annual CE Holiday Purchase
Pattern Study was conducted
in September by CEA Market Research

A webcast presentation is scheduled
for Nov. 11 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00
p.m. ET. To register, visit

www.ce.org/
events/webcasts.asp

or email Steve
Kidera at

[email protected]

.

CEA will also be releasing Black
Friday sales figures on Nov. 28.

Featured

Close