Tech purchases up despite lower BF sales
Buying tech products was the No. 1 priority on consumers’ shopping lists this past holiday weekend, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
An estimated 51.2 million American adults (45% of all shoppers) bought or planned to buy consumer technology products during the 2014 Thanksgiving shopping weekend. According to a new survey released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), while overall shopping traffic was down slightly this holiday weekend compared to the prior year, several areas saw notable growth, including reported spending per person and tech purchases.
In total, 113.2 million U.S. adults (46%) shopped or plan to shop over the holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday – down 18 million shoppers from 2013. CEA estimates Americans will spend $39.9 billion during the entire 2014 Thanksgiving shopping weekend. While the number of shoppers declined in 2014, consumers who shopped spent more, with an average of $371 – a 4.8-percentage-point increase from 2013.
Among the 51.2 million Americans adults who bought or were planning to buy technology products over the weekend, TVs (37%) were the most popular consumer electronics device purchased or planned to purchase. Tablets (35%), notebook computers (23%), videogame consoles (23%) and portable wireless speakers (23%) were the other most frequently anticipated tech purchases from the 2014 Thanksgiving weekend. Of U.S. adults who shopped this Thanksgiving weekend and bought tech products, 45% did so online (on par with 2013) and 77% shopped in-store (a 10-percentage point decrease from 2013).
According to CEA’s holiday outlook, total tech spending during the entire holiday shopping season will increase 2.5% – up from 0.9% growth in 2013 – to reach a record $33.76 billion. Online purchases contributed significantly to shopping totals this year. Of those Americans that shopped online, consumers cited convenience (88%) as their top reason for shopping online, followed by avoiding crowds (78%) and finding better or similar deals online compared to in stores (77%).
The shopping weekend isn’t over yet, as 30.1 million U.S. adults (12%) plan to shop on Cyber Monday, up 2.4 million shoppers from last year. Of those planning to shop online on Cyber Monday, most plan to shop for clothing (61%), followed by books or music (44%), tech or tech accessories (38%) and toys (38%).