• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, December 1, 2010

According to Scarborough Research, examining households planning holiday purchases of HDTVs, Smartphones and MP3 players, Best Buy and Walmart are neck-and-neck for household technology shopper penetration.

Scarborough's analysis of retail data shows that 40% of households planning purchases of HDTVs, Smartphones or MP3 players shopped Best Buy for home technology products during the past year, and:

• 39% shopped Walmart
• 23% shopped Target
• 12% shopped Radio Shack
• 10% shopped Sam's Club
• 10% shopped Sears
• 9% shopped Kmart
• 9% shopped Costco

Gary Meo, senior vice president of digital media services, Scarborough Research, notes that  "... mass retailers, and even discount retailers... all are important in the home technology ecosystem... "

Scarborough Research focused its home technology shopper analysis on consumers planning HDTV, Smartphone or MP3 player purchases because the firm's data shows a sharp increase in household ownership of these items since 2007. During this timeframe HDTV tripled, Smartphones and MP3 Players doubled.

Mr. Meo points our the importance of localism in examining technology adoption: "... across 77 major local markets... local penetration households that own one or more MP3 players... range from a high of 53% in Salt Lake City to a low of 29% in Ft. Myers, Little Rock, West Palm Beach, and Harrisburg... localism is an important attribute when creating targeted marketing campaigns... "

Almost three-fourths of adults now access the Internet, as broadband penetration in the home has increased from 45% in 2007 to 61% in 2010.

• DVR adoption in the home also increased from 26% in 2007 to 34% in 2010.
• 82% of American adults now use a cellular phone, compared to 70% in 2007. But, while device ownership is flattening, spending is increasing.

10% of U.S. adults spent $150 or more monthly on cellular services in 2010.

When it comes to emerging digital trends and technologies, Scarborough plans to track adoption of several new technologies and services on a local and national basis. New measurements include:

• Hulu: 7% of Internet users visited Hulu during the past month
• E-Readers: Nationally, four million households (nearly 4%) currently own or plan to buy an e-reader device
• Instant Messaging: 25% of Internet users IM'd during the past month
• Social Networking: 40% of Internet users used a social networking site during the past month
• Online Gaming: 14% of Internet users downloaded or played video games online during the past month

Wireless phone feature usage: 51% of wireless users texted on their cell phones; 16% emailed; Nine% accessed a map or GPS navigation service

Please visit Scarborough Research here for additional information and the PDF file of the study.