With many experts predicting that consumer electronics will emerge as one of the hottest gift categories in an otherwise hum-drum holiday, Walmart, Target and Best Buy are already sweetening the
shopping options.
Walmart is planning "The Amazing Walmart Electronics Event," kicking off November 6, with low prices on a full line of Vizio HDTVs, including a 26-inch model for $198, a Compaq
laptop for $288, and a $50 gift card for the Sony PlayStation 3 Move Bundle. And Target says it will begin offering the iPhone—expected to be one of the season's most coveted gifts--in some 850
stores that include Target Mobile centers beginning November 7, and is cutting prices on iPod touch and offering two-for-one video games. Best Buy is rolling out its new line of Beats by Dr. Dre
headphones and Beatbox portable speakers, and offering "Free Phone Friday" specials.
That's because while an estimated 32% of shoppers plan to make a consumer electronics purchase this season,
reports the Consumer Electronics Association, they're also expected to be exceedingly price-wary. But they're looking to spend: The average American will shell out $232 on electronics gifts this year,
according to CEA's 17th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study—a gain of 5% from last year, and the highest dollar amount in the history of the study.