The recession continues to limit CE shopping, as nearly 50 Percent of U.S. broadband households did not buy a CE product in the first half of 2009, according to Parks Associates' Consumer Decision Process. This ongoing service, which surveys consumers on their past purchases and future intentions for over 35 CE products, found consumers are still hesitant to buy, with fewer households overall buying CE than in 2007 and 2008. "In general, U.S. consumers who are buying are taking longer to do so, spending more time researching the product, and then waiting for the right time - meaning a sale or steep discount - to make the purchase," said Tricia Parks, CEO, Parks Associates.



The most popular purchases in the first half of 2009 were desktops, laptops, and LCD flat-screen TVs, with 14-17percent of households buying these products. With 5 percent of households purchasing in the first half, netbooks are showing a strong market start. Intentions to purchase netbooks are fairly high for the second half of 2009; this new product category will be in over 10percent of broadband households by New Year's. "Through our multiple surveys, we have tracked that high intention to purchase falls within 2percent of actual purchase rates for almost all product categories, so vested shoppers are following through on their purchase plans," Parks said. "Fortunately, intentions to purchase are higher in the second half of 2009 - we'll see a spike for several products for Christmas and the holiday season, including smartphones, earbuds, GPS devices, and digital photo frames."