Reversing a trend, the number of Google searches for Black Friday deals did not hit new highs Thanksgiving week -- but they did increase the week before and early this week, according to a report delivered via webcast by CEA research director Shawn DuBravac.

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is considering redirecting to manufacturers in 2011 its incentive program for energy efficient computers, an alliance official told us. The alliance, home to 120 utility members in the region, has been promoting utility cash incentive programs for electronics retailers for selling energy-efficient computers and TVs. “We are looking at engaging more closely with manufacturers on computers” in 2011, said Mardi Cino, the alliance’s consumer products manager. The retailer incentive program for computers will terminate next year and will focus solely on TVs, he said.

Consumers on average are willing to allocate $87.20 for the 3D feature in TVs, according to a report by DisplaySearch, which doesn’t bode well for success of more expensive passive-eyewear solutions that could improve the comfort level of 3D TV viewing. That $90 premium is a long way from the current $500 delta between 2D and 3D LCD TVs that DisplaySearch cited. But getting the cost down is key to 3D becoming mainstream and creating a market base for more content. While the ultimate goal is auto-stereoscopic 3D that will eliminate the need for glasses altogether, that solution is far down the road, DisplaySearch said. In the interim, manufacturers will debate the merits of two 3D technologies in an effort to balance consumer comfort, cost and picture quality.

Panasonic on Wednesday will begin selling the much-awaited Blu-ray 3D version of Avatar as part of a bundle promotion called the “3D Ultimate” pack that also includes two pairs of Panasonic’s second-generation rechargeable 3D glasses, Henry Hauser, vice president of merchandising, told Consumer Electronics Daily.

LG Electronics North America CEO Wayne Park will add president responsibilities in a broad restructuring that sharply defines the company’s major appliance and CE businesses, the company said Tuesday. Former LG North America President James Shad leaves the company less than a year after being promoted to the post from LG chief go-to-market officer (CED Dec 21 p1). Park’s expanded role takes effect Jan. 1.

The FCC proposes to give Congress a written record to consult as it weighs legislation to allow the agency to auction spectrum in such a way that the government will share the proceeds with incumbent licensees, Chairman Julius Genachowski said. A rulemaking notice on TV spectrum, approved at Tuesday’s commission meeting, would also help the FCC, by giving it some technical wherewithal to hold the incentive auctions if lawmakers authorize them, he said. Genachowski spoke with reporters after the meeting, in which a rulemaking notice on experimental licensing and an inquiry on wireless spectrum innovation were approved 5-0, as expected.

Financial returns on the Nook e-reader and digital content platform “may be greater than we originally thought in our one- to three-year models,” Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said Tuesday in the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings webcast. The company predicts an annualized run-rate of $400 million for digital content when the fiscal year ends in April, Lynch said, noting that “selling digital content through the Nook bookstore is the fastest growing business we've ever launched at BN.”

Tivoli Audio CEO Tom DeVesto is returning to the audio retailing business after a 12-year absence, the company said Tuesday. The company opened its first retail store last Friday, in the Natick Collection Mall in Natick, Mass., as a test that will likely run two or three quarters, Marketing Director Tom Stearns told us.

Tightened FTC guidelines against greenwashing, expected early next year, could lead to a wave of regulatory enforcement and private lawsuits over what have been widespread overbroad environmental marketing claims for products, legal experts said Tuesday. The revised Green Guides will create “somewhat of a perfect storm, very ripe for activity” by the commission and by competitors suing under the federal Lanham Act or state law, said Brian Heidelberger of the Winston & Strawn law firm’s Chicago office.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized 82 domain names of commercial websites said to be engaged in copyright piracy and sale of counterfeit goods, it said Monday. The action is part two of “Operation In Our Sites,” which launched in June with the shuttering of nine domain names offering pirated copies of first-run movies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. The strategy is also under consideration in the U.K., where police are pressing for similar closure powers, a spokesman for .uk registry Nominet said.