Headphones, earbuds and tablets are expected to be the...

Headphones, earbuds and tablets are expected to be the most popular CE devices consumers give during the upcoming holiday season, said CEA’s “21st Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study.” Twenty-seven percent of respondents planned to give headphones, followed closely at 26 percent each for earbuds and tablets, notebook computers at 25 percent, TVs at 24 percent and smartphones at 23 percent, said CEA, which predicts the 2014 holiday season will post the highest levels of CE spending since tracking began in 1994. Total tech spending during the holidays will increase 2.5 percent, up from 0.9 percent growth in 2013, to a record $33.76 billion for the season, CEA said. Consumers are “decidedly more optimistic about holiday spending on tech this year versus last year,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA senior director-research, citing a stronger macroeconomic environment leading consumers to show a “strong inclination to shop.” Expected growth in CE spending corresponds with projected growth in overall spending for the season, he said. Top tech wish list items are tablets, notebook PCs, TVs, smartphones and videogame consoles, CEA said. One in five consumers planned to buy a gift from emerging product categories including fitness devices (10 percent), smart home devices (9 percent) or a smart watch (8 percent), CEA said. For the first time, more than half of consumers are expected to buy CE products online this holiday season, up from 45 percent last year, although 77 percent of consumers said they're likely to buy tech gifts from a brick-and-mortar location, it said. Some 67 percent of consumers who plan to buy CE products are likely to use a mobile device to help them shop, CEA said. More consumers plan to shop early this year, but most will still wait to finish shopping later in the season, when they feel the best deals are available, CEA said. The study was done by telephone with 1,008 U.S. adults, Sept. 5-9, by Opinion Research Corp. The margin of sampling error at 95 percent confidence for aggregate results is +/- 3.1 percent, CEA said.