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Consumer Electronics Outlook for the Holidays

As in recent years, consumer electronics (CE) products will be popular holiday purchases in 2007, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.

The company's latest survey yielded over 2,000 responses from North American consumers -- more than 80 percent of these respondents have plans to purchase a CE product this holiday season, the high-tech market research firm says.

"In 2007, High Definition Televisions (HDTV) top consumers' holiday wish list, most likely due to plummeting price tags for these products. HDTVs will bump digital cameras down to the third spot," says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst.

I believe that we will also witness a second-wave of new gaming console purchases during the holidays. We typically see these type of deferred CE product purchases from families with limited incomes.

The research report entitled "2007 Holiday Spending on Consumer Electronics" covers the North American market for CE product categories. It contains extensive analysis of a July 2007 consumer survey on planned CE purchases for the upcoming holiday season. Many categories of CE products are covered including portable multimedia players (PMP), HDTVs, satellite radios, and PCs.

In-Stat's market study found the following:

- PCs will jump up to the second spot this year, as both desktop and notebook PCs evolve into digital multimedia devices used for video viewing, music playback, and imaging applications.

- Relatively affordable and portable products, like PMPs and digital cameras, will likely be purchased as gifts, while higher-priced CE products requiring more research and preference, like HDTVs and digital camcorders, will be purchased for personal use.

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