Study: TV's Lower On Consumer Holiday Wish Lists
Study by Comsumer Electronics Association says that consumer demand for televisions and computers have fallen in the last year, but for those that do plan on buying, HD is in.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/20/2008 10:09:00 AM
The computer has fallen below "peace and happiness" atop consumer's general holiday wish lists, and televisions fell from third to sixth place. But of those planning to buy one of those TV's, the vast majority plan to make it a high-definition set.
In the just-released Consumer Electronics Association's 15th annual holiday purchase pattern study, television, which in 2007 was below computers (#1) and "peace and happiness (#2) in the things consumers wanted most this holiday season, is now outranked not only by "peace and happiness" and computers but by family togetherness, clothes, and money.
TV still tops "good health," which was number 10 on the list, also below cars, cell, phones, and video games.
It was the first time in at least three years that peace and happiness reined supreme, coming in second to clothes in 2006, when TV didn't even make the top 10 list.
But TV's rank second on lists confined only to consumer electronics, coming in second to laptops but ahead of the digital cameras, regular computers, video games and MP3 players that had ranked above it in 2006 and 2007, when it came in fifth both times.
The picture is not so rosy for TV when the list is confined to teens. TV, which was number seven in 2007, drops entirely off the wish lists of the younger set.
Of those who said they did plan to buy a TV set this holiday season, 85% said it would be an HDTV, and over half said it would be at least a 40-inch screen. More than a quarter (28%) of the people buying a new TV said it was to prepare for the DTV transition.
“The CEA report was based on telephone polls of 1,000 adults and 500 teens, both conducted in late September.”
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