About 79 percent of respondents said they plan to give a CE-related gift this year, up from 75 percent last year. About 48 percent said they actually gave a CE gift last year, while 44 percent said they received one.
The 3.5 percent growth in Q4 CE spending comes from the following areas:
A/V, including portable MP3 players and camcorders, represent 27.9 percent of total CE spending with a Q4 increase of 3.9 percent. Computers represent 15.6 percent with negative growth of one percent. Home communications represent 19.5 percent with a decrease of 5.3 percent. Mobile phones represent 15.5 percent with 11 percent growth.
Accessories and blank media come in at 9.6 percent with 4.6 percent growth. Video games represent 4.7 percent with 5.6 percent growth.
The killer category seems to be GPS, including in-car video, with 30 percent growth and representing three percent of total CE spending.
Digital cameras, fueled by SLRs and digital frame sales, represent 4.3 percent with 6.9 percent growth.
As far as what people plan to give as gifts this year, televisions, tabletop and clock radios, portable CDs and MP3 boom boxes, and external storage devices hit the list for the fist time. The boom boxes represent a trend that more people are now listening to the MP3 players at home than on the road, while the external storage devices show a need for securing, managing and sharing all of the digital photo and music files consumers have amassed over the years.
Video game systems (27 percent plan to buy one as a gift), digital cameras (about 21 percent), digital media players (about 21 percent), DVD players, laptops (17 percent) and portable game devices topped the list, in that order. All of those numbers are down several percentage points from last year.
In terms of demographics, 75 percent of consumers plan to visit a CE retailer during the holidays. About 79 percent of those are men, 71 percent women, 88 percent between the ages of 18 and 24, 85 percent between 35 and 44, 76 percent between 45 and 54 and 56 percent more than 56.
About 54 percent of the respondents said they plan to do some holiday shopping online, up from 51 percent last year and 45 percent in 2006.
About 57 percent plan to buy a CE gift through an online retailer. Men represent 66 percent of that number, while women represent 49 percent.
Retailers should keep in mind that in tough economies consumers usually use more coupons, spend more time looking for bargains, spend less on non-essential items, shop at discount retailers, buy with cash instead of credit, buy store brands instead of name brands, review Sunday newspaper circulars, buy a less expensive version of a product, and shop more on auction and re-sale sites.
To see a slideshow of the charts from this presentation, click here.
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