Gaming Is the Top Segment for Electronic Holiday Gifts [REPORT]

Consumers this holiday season are seeking video game consoles, smartphones and cameras — but on the cheap, if possible, according to the Giftmeister 2010 Holiday Gifting Trend Report.

The findings, based on the purchases of 20,000 Giftmeister customers from the past 30 days, show video games/video game consoles are the number-one category shoppers are seeking this year. But among women, cameras topped the list.

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Such shoppers are likely to have a "techno geek" on their list as well. Some 22% of consumer electronics gifts for males are for the techno geek in their lives, while a "music lover" or "gaming geek" each garnered 11%.

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E-readers are also big, according to the report — particularly Amazon's Kindle, which beat out Apple's iPad in that segment. "E-readers and tablets are hot, hot and hot," says Uzair Dada, the CEO of Iron Horse Interactive, Giftmeister's parent company.

Giftmeister, the personal consumer electronics shopping service, didn't exist one year ago, so it can't provide comparisons to last year, but Dada did say with confidence that e-readers and tablets are more popular than they were during last year's holiday season, because, for the most part, those products didn't exist one year ago either.

Despite the popularity of consumer electronics, however, many are — not surprisingly — taking a frugal approach this year. Sixty-one percent of respondents are budgeting less than $100 for a gift. Only 6% plan to spend in excess of $500. The most popular gift in the $200-plus range is a laptop, which 18.5% of consumers planning to spend in that range are considering.

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One not-so-surprising finding: Only 27% of consumers reported that they were shopping for a woman's electronics gift while 73% were buying something for the man in their life.

"It [Giftmeister] is gadgety -- is geeky -- so it is kind of the stereotypical male," Dada said.

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