Gadgets galore tempt buyers this holiday season (News Feature)

Nov 29, 2007, 0:54 GMT

San Francisco - The housing market may be in crisis, and a credit crunch may be plunging the US economy toward recession.

But don't tell that to American shoppers. They are streaming to shopping malls and internet stores in record numbers for another season of splurge, with a smorgasbord of enticing high-tech gadgets.

The shopping season for the holidays officially kicked off last week on the day after Thanksgiving, one of the only two days in the year when most stores are closed in the United States.

After the 24-hour shopping break, hard-core shoppers wake up at 4 am to be first at the shop doors on so-called Black Friday, so named because many retailers only become profitable for the year after that day's revenue.

According to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), more than 147 million shoppers, or nearly half the population of the United States, hit the stores during the three-day weekend, up 4.8 per cent from last year.

Shoppers also flocked to the internet in unprecedented numbers, especially on what is known as Cyber Monday. This is when online shopping usually spikes as workers return to their high-speed internet connections in the office after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Traffic to the top 100 retail websites increased 26 per cent on that day compared to 2006, according to web-tracking firm Hitwise - the third straight year with an increase on the Monday following Thanksgiving.

Research outfit comScore reported that online shoppers spent a record 733 million dollars on Cyber Monday, a 21-per-cent increase over last year and an 84-per-cent jump from the average daily online spending in the preceding four weeks. Among the five retailers who saw the most traffic to their sites, online giants like Amazon and Dell were joined by brick-and-mortar stalwarts Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy.

'Following a strong holiday weekend, consumers continued to shop online on Cyber Monday, increasing visits to retail sites from last year,' said Heather Dougherty, director of research at Hitwise. 'Traffic to the electronics and video games categories experienced the strongest growth, as shoppers searched for products such as GPS navigation systems and Nintendo Wii consoles.'

The digital realm was also attractive in the real world, said NRF chief executive Tracy Mullin.

'While last year showed a greater emphasis on high-definition televisions, this year consumers were focused on lower-priced door- busters like digital photo frames, laptops and cashmere sweaters,' she said.

The NPD Research Group said that GPS navigation systems were among the most popular tech gifts, while retailers said that digital cameras, iPhones, MP3 players and video consoles were also in high demand.

Meanwhile Sony's Playstation 3 has emerged from torpid sales to attract thousands of buyers in recent days. Thanks to stark price cuts, the number of buyers more than tripled in the week after Thanksgiving.

But the hit of the video game world remains the innovative Nintendo Wii. A year since its release, the motion-based game console is still selling out as fast as stores can get them. Customers lucky enough to get one through normal retail channels at the recommended price of 249 dollars can immediately flip them for more than a 100- dollar profit on auction site eBay.

'My wife and kids have been nagging me to get a Wii, but I can't find one anywhere, except by paying extra on eBay,' said sales rep Greg Willis. 'I heard that my local Toys R' Us store is getting some on Sunday, so I will there at dawn to get in line.'