64% of holiday shoppers plan to buy a tablet this year

Tablets are hot, eReaders are warm, and gaming consoles...eh...

A new survey released Wednesday morning by TechBargains, an aggregation site for tech deals, shows that once again, consumer electronics are at the top of everyone’s holiday shopping lists this year.

On average, consumers plan to spend a full quarter of their holiday shopping budgets on electronics this year, with more than half of those surveyed saying they plan to spend between $250 and $500 altogether this year.  A full 50% of those surveyed said they plan to spend at least half of their holiday budget on electronics this season.

A total of 590 people were surveyed via the TechBargains website as well as a number of social media platforms.

The survey also unearthed some interesting shopping trends among tablets and eReaders this season.  While 67% of those surveyed said they don’t currently own a tablet, a full 64% said they plan to purchase a tablet within the next six months.  And when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of holiday shoppers, the iPad and the Kindle Fire are neck and neck.  Of those surveyed who say they plan to buy a tablet in the next six months, 35% said they plan to buy an iPad2 while 32% said they plan to buy a Kindle Fire.

Interestingly, 25% of iPad owners actually said they plan to buy a Kindle Fire in the next six months.  When asked why, 88% said it’s because they simply like owning the latest product.

While tablets are obviously a hot buy this year, eReaders are on the warm side, but not quite as fiery as the tablets (get it?  Kindle Fire?... Moving on…).

While 76% of those surveyed said they don’t own an eReader, only 34% are planning to purchase one in the next six months.  Of those who do plan to buy an eReader, 76% plan to buy a Kindle while a slim 9% plan to buy a Nook Color.  Furthermore, of those shoppers who already own a Kindle eReader, a full 53% said they plan to upgrade to a Kindle Fire in the next six months, while 17% said they plan to buy an iPad 2.

“The survey results show that even in difficult economic times, consumer electronics are virtually downturn-proof,” said Yung Trang, Editor in Chief of TechBargains, in a statement. “While there’s a definite shift towards smart and more educated shopping, demand for the latest gadgets remains strong. [The] Kindle Fire is making waves in the tablet market. The competitive price point of the device could cause consumers to steer away from Apple and look to Amazon.”

The survey also noted some interesting differences between the shopping plans of men versus women.  For men, a recommendation from a friend was listed as the single most important factor in deciding on a purchase this year, whereas for women, free shipping was noted as the most important factor. 

For both men and women, tablets are the top choice for holiday purchases this year.  But men are least likely to purchase an eReader this year while women are least likely to purchase a gaming console.

Image source: kindle-fire-tablet.org