Parks Associates: 60% of CE Holiday Shoppers Plan to Purchase at Least One Device on Black Friday, 71% Already Started Shopping

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Nov 26, 2013) - Parks Associates CE research reports 60% of CE holiday shoppers plan to purchase at least one device this Black Friday, but the 4Q 2013 survey of U.S. broadband households also shows many consumers started their holiday CE shopping before this week. Seventy-one percent of holiday shoppers have already started shopping for products.

"Retailers were wise to offer 'pre-Black Friday' sales this year because a huge majority of CE buyers started shopping early," said John Barrett, director, Consumer Analytics, Parks Associates. "Early shoppers are looking at tablets, game consoles, smartphones, and flat-panel TVs in particular, which continue to be, year after year, the most-popular items on Black Friday."

The research shows 56% of U.S. broadband households intend to purchase at least one CE device before the end of 2013 and spend on average $1,050. Last year, 63% intended to purchase a CE device and spend $1,058.

"Over one-half of consumers intend to spend roughly the same amount on CE products as they did last year," Barrett said. "The CE market is reaching an equilibrium where spending will hold steady year-over-year for the near future. The percentage of consumers planning to spend more from one year to the next is not rising. At the same time, the percentage willing to spend less is proportional to the percentage intending to spend more, so average spending evens out overall."

Tablets are the most-desired item for the second year in a row. Smartphones are the most-common replacement purchase this holiday season, followed by laptop computers. Tablets and game consoles are the most-common devices to be purchased as additional devices.

"Of this year's tablet shoppers, 45% are making this purchase as an additional device, which translates into 13% of broadband households who are adding another tablet," Barrett said. "Of U.S. broadband households, 20% plan to buy a new smartphone handset to replace their current one, and 12% intend to purchase a game console as a replacement."

According to Parks Associates, economic concerns are inhibiting 11% of U.S. broadband households from buying CE devices this holiday season:

• 22% of non-buyers cannot afford to buy desired CE devices this holiday season
• 55% say they don't need any new CE devices, a figure slightly higher than last year (50%)

2013 Holiday CE Purchase Intentions features consumer research from a nationwide survey of 2,500 U.S. broadband households fielded in 4Q 2013. Data on other CE devices are also available. Contact Holly Sprague at 720.987.6614, hsprague@gmail.com for more information on Parks Associates' CE holiday shopping research.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions. http://www.parksassociates.com