Twice.com reports that consumers will allocate more money on consumer electronics product this holiday season than ever before. This is according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) 17th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study, released at the CEA Industry Forum.

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For more information on related topics, read our other articles, Consumer Confidence in Economy and Electronics Rises,1099 Earners Can't Get Home Loans Thus Aren't Buying Home Theater Systems, and The AV Business is Cautiously Optimistic About the Economy in 2010.  You can find the Twice.com article here.

The study claims that consumers will be spending an average of $232 on CE gifts this year, 5 percent more than the $222 from last year, which makes this year an all-time high.

Also, the study states that 31 percent of all holiday gift spending will be on consumer electronics, 2 percent more than the 29 percent from last year.

When buying electronics as gifts, the CEA survey claims that 32 percent will start shopping in November and 27 percent will begin in December. The consumers concerns were, first and foremost, pricing (84 percent), followed closely by the return policy (81 percent), then ease of purchase (79 percent), and past experience at the store (78 percent).

The big box stores will be reaping the benefits with 66 percent of people shopping at the mass merchants, 60 percent hitting up electronics stores, 40 percent venturing out to warehouse clubs, and 46 percent choosing to shop online.

The top five categories of gifts:

1. Video game consoles - 24%
2. MP3 players - 22%
3. Notebook/laptops - 21%
4. DVD or Blu-ray players - 19%
5. Smartphones - 17%