TVs High on CE Wish Lists This Holiday Season, Says IHS Report

TVs are "especially prominent" on holiday CE wish lists, with 34 percent of consumers planning to buy at least one set during the holidays, an IHS report released Friday said. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of survey respondents planned to buy a TV in the 50-59-inch range, and 22 percent were eyeing 40-45-inch TVs, IHS said. In a brand breakout, 66 percent of consumers plan to buy an LG, Samsung, Sony or Vizio TV, but IHS expects heavy price discounts and other promotions to “change this scenario in favor of low-tier brands,” said Veronica Gonzalez-Thayer, IHS senior analyst-consumer electronics. TV features that consumers are willing to pay more for include “smart” (34 percent) and 4K UHD (29 percent), the report said. That’s good news for TV makers that “are trying to leverage on these to increase profits and augment demand,” Gonzalez-Thayer said. Overall, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average $768.55 on consumer electronics this holiday season, IHS said, with some 37 percent of respondents planning to make at least one CE purchase on Black Friday, 32 percent planning to buy online on Cyber Monday and 50 percent expecting to buy electronics some other time in November or December, it said. “This year consumer confidence is very high,” Gonzalez-Thayer said, explaining that two-thirds of respondents plan to shop both online and in stores. Breaking out retailers, 76 percent of respondents planned to shop at Amazon, followed by Walmart (73 percent), Best Buy (66 percent) and Target (63 percent) the report, said.