Most Black Friday Weekend Shoppers Bought Electronics, CEA Survey Finds

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®.

Consumer Electronics (CE) were among the most purchased items this weekend, increasing in popularity over last year, according to the CEA survey. 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 five percent from last year and the highest figure in the history of the study.

"The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start this weekend, as consumers, on average, completed nearly twenty percent of their holiday shopping, highlighting the importance of the Thanksgiving Day weekend for retailers, manufacturers and consumers," said Shawn DuBravac, CEA's chief economist and director of research. "Consumers continue to seek discounts and they certainly found them this weekend with the bulk of shoppers saying the deals they found were good to excellent."

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
• Computers, including notebooks and tablets

CEA's holiday forecast showed that notebook/laptop computers, iPads and eReaders will be among the most wanted electronics gifts this year while video game systems, mp3 players and notebook computers will be the electronics consumers are most likely to give this holiday season.

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%) 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. 53 percent of consumers who purchased electronics on Thursday purchased online, saying they found the same or better deals as at retail stores.

"Whether online or in-person, electronics proved especially popular this weekend, consistent with CEA's earlier Black Friday predictions," said DuBravac. "Electronics remain the must-have gift this holiday as consumers continue to seek portable and content-driven devices."

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. 469 interviews were from the landline sample and 99 interviews from the cell phone sample. Additional data will be supplied throughout the weekend, with a complete report to follow.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $170 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.

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