• Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, August 4, 2010 10:47 AM

Given a choice between a lawnmower and an iPad, you'd go for the Toro, right? Well, perhaps not surprisingly, that's not the way it's shaking out. Consumer priorities are shifting from durable goods like furniture and washing machines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs, according to the Commerce Dept.

Emmeline Zhao reports that spending on televisions, computers, video and telephone equipment was up 1.8% in the first six months of this year compared to the first half of pre-recession 2007, while spending on appliances decreased 3.6%. Furniture decreased 11% during that time but that could have something to do with the pervasive influence of Bob.

But economies don't thrive with electronics alone, according to Chris Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight, because spending on technology accounts for only 1.2% of nominal gross domestic product. "People have to be able to feel they can spend on big durable goods items and housing, and these are not doing well," he says. "Even if technology is growing well in retail sales, it helps, but it's nothing that's going to pull us out of this low level of GDP growth."

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