Electronics Among Most Popular Purchases During Black Friday Weekend, CEA Survey Finds

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronics were among the most purchased items over the Thanksgiving weekend, with nearly half of all shoppers buying technology, according to interim results from the Black Friday Weekend survey by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® and CARAVAN^®. The survey showed that nearly 118 million Americans will shop this weekend (Thursday through Monday).

“Mature product categories, such as televisions, digital cameras and MP3 players, fared well this weekend as unprecedented price points proved too tempting for shoppers to ignore.”

Once again, consumer electronics (CE) trailed only clothes as the most popular gifts purchased this weekend. Nearly half of all shoppers (48 percent) bought or will buy CE from Thursday through Monday. The survey examined shopping habits, intentions and expectations from Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24, through Cyber Monday, Monday, November 27. More than 60 percent of shoppers were purchasing clothes during that time frame. Toys are also a popular gift this weekend.

CEA’s 18^th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study showed the average consumer will spend an all-time high of $246 on electronics gifts this year, up six percent from last year and representing one-third of all gift spending.

The Black Friday Weekend survey found the most popular day to shop was Friday, although the entire weekend, including Thursday and Monday, was or will be busy shopping days. Through Friday, nearly 118 million people reported they had shopped on Thursday or Friday or had plans to shop Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Black Friday and Saturday were the most popular (intended) days to shop with 27 percent and 25 percent, respectively, of individuals shopping on those days. Thanksgiving Day was also popular, with 11 percent shopping on Thursday.

“Black Friday shopping has fast become a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, like football or a post-Turkey dinner nap, for millions of shoppers,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s chief economist and director of research. “The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start as many hit the stores or went online to kick-off their holiday shopping as soon as they finished Thanksgiving dessert. These bargain hunters were able to find the deals they were after.”

Consistent with CEA’s earlier holiday forecast, the Black Friday Weekend survey showed the most popular electronics purchased/planned to purchase this weekend were:

Digital Cameras
Video game consoles
Accessories (such as cables and cases)
Televisions
Notebook/laptop computers
Smartphones
MP3 players
e-Readers
Tablet computers

Mass merchants were again the most popular place to shop during the Black Friday weekend. Roughly 77 percent of those who had already shopped, as of Friday, reported shopping at a mass merchant. When including individuals’ shopping intentions for the rest of the weekend, that number rises to 81 percent. Department stores, electronics stores and online retailers were also popular shopping destinations. Nearly half of shoppers (46 percent) who bought electronics purchased their CE device online.

Most consumers were happy with the deals they found this weekend. Of those who shopped, 69 percent rated the deals and sales as good or excellent. When it comes to electronics, 61 percent said the deals and sales were good or excellent. More consumers also said the deals they found in stores were better than online, with 60 percent rating in-store deals as good or excellent versus 35 percent for online.

“Electronics continue to be the must-have gifts of the holiday as consumers are allocating more of their overall gift budget to buy the latest, innovative technologies,” said DuBravac. “Mature product categories, such as televisions, digital cameras and MP3 players, fared well this weekend as unprecedented price points proved too tempting for shoppers to ignore.”

If you would like to discuss the results of CEA’s 2011 Black Friday Weekend Survey or book an interview with a CEA analyst or spokesperson, please contact CEA’s Steve Kidera by email at skidera@CE.org.

CEA’s 2011 Black Friday Weekend Survey presents the interim findings of a telephone survey conducted among two national probability samples, which, when combined, consists of 533 adults, 261 men and 272 women 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States. Interviewing for this CARAVAN^® Survey was completed on November 25, 2011. 407 interviews were from the landline sample and 126 interviews from the cell phone sample. Additional data is available with final figures available Monday.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $190 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 owns and produces 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, www.DeclareInnovation.com and through social media; https://www.facebook.com/#!/CEAfeed, http://twitter.com/ceafeed, http://blog.ce.org.

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