Americans do not want world peace for the holidays. At least, they want it less than a TV.
That was the determination by the Consumer Electronics Association’s Holiday 2013 forecast revealed at the CEA’s Industry Forum on October 22.
They’d also prefer a mobile PC or tablet-6% over 5% desiring world peace and happiness.
Also our “Joy to the World” is weighted more to “Joy to Ourselves.”
While holiday gift giving is expected to be $108 lower than in 2012, holiday retail sales are projected to increase by 4% over last year. The conclusion is that more will be buying for themselves.
Estimates are that consumer spending on tech will increase by 2.6%. Attention will largely be on a higher value class of products as far as CE is concerned.
And as revealed the same day, Apple is heeding that trend in marketing its new iPad Air and new iPad mini. Priced at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version and $629 for those with cellular connection, the new products are not cheap.
Bundling will be utilized to maintain consumer loyalty while driving higher sales despite the higher prices. For instance, purchases of the new Apple products might be bundled with an Incipio Flagship Folio exclusive for the iPad Air or the ultralight hardshell Incipio Smart Feather for the iPad mini with Retina display.
The overall savings of bundling would be the enticement over a solo purchase.
But consumers are also savvier. They realize that that $13 DVD player might end up costing more down the road than the regularly priced $250 counterpart. With technology advancements and attention to how long an item lasts, the limitations of a cheap model are not as attractive as the low price.
While consumers are apt to spend more money on products, retailers are under the gun. There’s not a lot of time.
Macy’s will be open on Thanksgiving for the first time, but retailers will have less time this year to be open. There are only 26 shopping days this holiday season, the smallest amount possible.
So retailers will push deals extended over more hours as well as staggered deals to keep customers in the store. For example, to get the $29 Blu-Ray player will have to be at the store from 2AM-7AM but wait until 9AM-4PM for the $88 TV.
Also to watch for: increased mobile app marketing offering exclusive unannounced and flash sales as well as “Black Friday”-esque sales coming before the actual day.
So the way to world peace is not through holding hands. It’s by offering something better and wrapping it in an enticing way. Just make it a TV.
