Nearly three-quarters of all U.S. households say they are likely to purchase at least one consumer electronics product as a gift this holiday season, according to the results of the "10th Annual Holiday Purchase Patterns" survey released yesterday by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) during the CEA Industry Forum held in Carlsbad, California. Retailers should expect strong sales of DVD players, digital cameras and video gaming systems, and a steady flow of shoppers, with 71 percent of consumers expecting to visit electronics retailers during their hunt for the perfect gift. The CEA Industry Forum runs through Wednesday.

"The appeal of consumer electronics products - digital products, in particular - has become so broad, so universal, that it is hard to find a U.S. household without at least one CE product at the top of a holiday gift-giving check list," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. "And in many households we also find a CE product or two at the top of each individual's wish list, as well. Digital cameras, DVD players and high-definition televisions (HDTV) are the items many of us will be hoping to unwrap this holiday season. It is hard not to experience child-like delight during the holidays for CE products when they deliver such quality, value, entertainment and convenience."

According to the CEA survey, 70 percent of consumers expect to spend the same amount or more this year on gifts this holiday season, up from 68 percent in 2002. The average consumer will purchase approximately seven electronics products this holiday season, up from six products in 2002. This increase in consumer purchases will boost total electronics gift sales by four percent compared to the 2002 holiday shopping season, despite a slight drop in overall average prices of five percent.

In addition, more than half (55 percent) of consumers believe economic conditions are the same or better than those they faced last year. Price declines, combined with consumer sentiment about the economy, stand as strong drivers for the anticipated increase in holiday purchases

"But falling prices are a double-edged sword in the consumer electronics industry," said Sean Wargo, director of Industry Analysis for CEA. "While lower price points are a windfall for consumers looking to purchase the myriad of products available in audio, video, wireless, home networking, digital imaging, gaming and accessories categories, price decay places strong pressure on manufacturers' profit margins."

DVD players, the fastest selling consumer electronics product in history, topped the list of electronics gift items likely to be purchased this season for the third consecutive year, with 31 percent of consumers likely to make the purchase. Other products on the minds of gift-givers include digital cameras (24 percent), video gaming systems (20 percent), wireless phones (19 percent), portable MP3 players (16 percent), desktop, laptop or notebook PCs (13 percent), and HDTV (12 percent).

When asked what consumer electronics products they would most like to receive as a gift this holiday season, DVD players again rose to the top, along with digital cameras. Also making the list of most wanted electronics gifts for the 2003 holidays were notebook or laptop computers, digital cameras, HDTV and wireless phones.