This year’s 15th CE Holiday Purchase Pattern Study showed that despite the bad shape of the economy, people are still willing to pay a lot of money on food, decorations and presents. This study was conducted by interviewing 1,000 adults and the margin of error is expected to be up to 3.2%, plus or minus. The results show that people will be willing to spend this upcoming winter holidays up to $1,437, which is 14% lower than last year when the average people spent was $1,671. On the shopping list, adults mostly prefer consumer electronics like computers, game consoles and cell phones.

According to the study the CEA conducted many people, 80% of adults, hope that they will receive some sort of electronic device as a gift. The survey also shows that people are also willing to cut back on some things because of the general trend the economy has taken. The study shows that 20% of people said they won’t buy any consumer electronics, 31% cut back on sporting goods, 28% are postponing buying new furniture and 26% plan to cut out vacations from their to-do lists.

The increase in consumer electronic sales are expected to come from portable MP3 players and camcorders, representing 27.9%, computers with 15.6%, home communications with 19.5% and mobile phones 15.5%. Car GPS devices are expected to see a spectacular increase in sales, with a 30% growth from last year. When asked what presents people will offer this year, the top of the list included TV sets, clock radios, portable CDs and MP3 boom boxes and external storage devices.