The NPD Group expects this Mother’s Day, May 13, to boost sales for CE retailers and vendors. Its retail tracking service found that consumers spent more than $865 million during the week leading up to Mother’s Day last year, a 9 percent increase over 2005.
According to NPD, some of the biggest selling products in 2006 were digital cameras, MP3 players and accessories, mobile navigation products, camcorders and satellite radio products.
“We can expect to see those products, as well as several others, including digital picture frames and flat-panel televisions do very well this year,” said Stephen Baker, NPD’s VP, industry analysis.
NPD isn’t the only party betting on an influx of CE shopping for Mother’s Day. Richmond, Va. –based Circuit City recently performed a survey of more than 3,000 moms and dads regarding Mother’s Day gift preferences. The survey, performed in partnership with independent research firm Decision Analyst, found that 20 percent of moms would choose a digital camera as their Mother’s Day gift this year.
In response to its findings, Circuit City is planning a series of digital imaging related initiatives leading up to the holiday. The retailer’s plans include a photo contest, a live Web digital imaging forum and special in-store experts to help last-minute shoppers.
For the photo contest, consumers were invited to submit photos illustrating “Mom’s Favorite Things” by clicking “New at Circuit City” at www.circuitcity.com. The winner will receive a pair of Canon digital cameras and a special message saluting his or her mom that will appear on Mother’s Day on a variety of consumer magazine Web sites.
A live Web forum on Circuit City’s site, set for Tuesday, May 8, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST, will be moderated by George Schaub, editorial director of Shutterbug Magazine, for consumers who are interested in having an expert answer their digital imaging questions.
The final initiative will take place on Saturday, May 12, in most Circuit City superstores nationwide. In an effort to aid last-minute Mother’s Day shoppers, specially-trained experts will be on hand from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to supplement regular staffers and to demonstrate how to find the right camera.
