Electronics holiday sales up, PCs slip
By Reuters
December 9, 2002, 9:17 PM PT
Demand for digital cameras and flat computer displays fueled strong consumer electronics sales in the crucial U.S. Thanksgiving holiday week, as shoppers grabbed deep discounts, while PCs and handheld computer sales slipped, according to a report to be released Tuesday.
NPD Techworld, a division of NPD Group, said in a report that in the week of Nov. 24 through Nov. 30, consumer electronics and technology sales rose 17.7 percent to more than $500 million, compared with a rise of 7.6 percent in the same period in 2001.
NPD said that while so-called Black Friday sales--on the day after Thanksgiving--do not tell the entire story of the industry's health, it shows what's in store for retailers, who count on big holiday business to bolster profits.
However, NPD emphasized that electronics retailers have a leg up on the rest of the retail industry, thanks to strong demand for audio video and home entertainment devices.
Amid concerns about "dropping sales and interest in mall and department store shopping for the holidays, those of us in the technology business can feel satisfied that, even in some of the worst holiday shopping seasons, technology remains at the top of consumers' shopping lists," NPD said.
Last week, major U.S. retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and Kohl's said tallies for November were at the low end of already conservative forecasts.
The soft figures compare with a shopping season in 2001 that was already depressed because consumer were still shaken by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and anthrax incidents.
Black Friday sales were spurred by so-called doorbuster incentives, including specials to shoppers who arrived at stores as early as 6 a.m. Once inside, buyers found dramatic price reductions on such popular items as giant screen televisions and utilitarian items such as computer hard drives.
NPD analyst Tom Edwards said that the early jump in sales may eventually crest, giving way to an overall season of moderate gains.
"The one thing that bothers me is that people are destination shopping," he said. "They know what they are going to buy and they buy that. They were loaded up with the specials but very little else."
Leading the sales drive were flat LCD computer monitors, whose unit sales grew by 163 percent, at an average selling price of $419, NPD said. Equipment to enable people to link, or network, their home computers saw unit sales rise 113 percent.
Products related to digital photography were also strong, led by digital cameras, which marked a 35 percent rise on unit growth and a 52 percent jump in dollar growth. Multifunction printers and ink cartridges also rose, but ink jet printers slumped, the report said.
Notebook computers also sold briskly, the report said, with unit sales climbing 57 percent. Although the products average price was $1,242, specials such as a Toshiba notebook at $700, after rebates, fueled sales.
"For 2002, with expectations low as they were last year, these initial results should provide some measure of relief that the season will progress in its typical fashion," the report said.
Little relief came for some already beleaguered categories. NPD reported a 4.7 percent decline in units of desktop personal computers in that week. Handheld computers also slumped, marking a 12.3 percent drop in units, thought higher average prices helped them score a 1 percent rise in dollars, compared with last year. |
