Christmas Shopping? Consumer Electronics are Red Hot this Holiday Season

Prices on the hottest consumer electronics are shrinking faster than Tony Soprano’s second helping of pasta fazul. WOA! Economics experts are saying electronics are in - women’s handbags, jewelry and other luxury items are out.

Merry Christmas guys!

Sure, there’s plenty of economic bad news out there. According to Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg: "In our view, the consumer is on the precipice of experiencing its first recessionary phase since 1991."

We’re besieged with rising fuel costs, a floundering housing sector and even the once mighty US greenback is struggling to keep pace with foreign currencies.”

"There aren't a lot of segments in the retail sector that are poised to have a good holiday season," says Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics.

But it’s the Perfect Storm for HDTV

Fears of recession alongside advances in HDTV mass production have created a sort of perfect storm this Christmas season. It’s a storm that’ll see a lot more big-screen plasmas under the tree this year - and a lot fewer Gucci purses.

According to Consumer Reports, you’ll get that flat panel HDTV at an average savings of 30% over what it would have cost last holiday season.

Savings on many HDTV types are far greater than 30%. A 1080p plasma panel at 50” this time last year would have cost about $6,700. Only the affluent need apply. But this year you should be able to find a set with those specifications for about $2,400.

The cost savings is even greater when you compromise on both size and resolution. For instance, a 42” flat panel HDTV at 720p will be commonplace at well south of a grand. For this year’s Black Friday, Wal-Mart has advertised a 42” Polaroid 1080p LCD TV for a very affordable $798.

As an economy brand, Polaroid has a dubious overall quality rating, even from Consumer Reports. It’s probably a good idea to pony up a little extra cash for a trusted brand name - even if you have to step down from 1080p to 720p, the electronics behind a name brand screen will provide you with better overall image quality than a higher resolution cheapie. Still, there are many out there who are likely to dive into off brands just to stick a big screen under the tree this holiday season.

Even budget HDTV sales are good for the market overall. A bigger HD market means more media will be available in the coming year.

Happy Shopping!