Circuit City Survey Shows Holiday Shoppers Are Looking for Family-Oriented Gifts, Information and Convenience * 'Just What I Needed for the Holidays' Survey Spotlights Shopping Preferences RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Ready or not, the holidays are fast approaching and a new national survey from electronics retailer Circuit City provides insights into some key holiday shopping decisions: What do shoppers want and how do they plan to shop? More than 2,600 adults nationwide responded to Circuit City's "Just what I needed for the holidays" survey.* Here are the highlights: Family Gifts: -- Seventy percent of respondents said they plan to buy a gift for the entire family this holiday. -- Of those, the majority (74%) chose home electronics as the favorite family gift, beating a family trip (15%), appliances (10%), and a new car (1.4%). -- Favored tech gifts include: digital camera or camcorder (30%), new TV (23%), CDs/DVDs (21%), and a home theater system (17%). Growth of Internet shopping: -- Almost 80 percent said they will make at least some of their holiday purchases online. -- Of those, most (59%) cited the convenience of shopping from home as their favorite reason to shop online. -- When shopping for consumer electronics, 49 percent said they rely most on Internet research over advice from friends (17%) or advertising (14%). Gift cards popular: -- A majority of respondents (70%) will give gift cards as holiday gifts. -- Of those, 59 percent said they opt for gift cards because they don't know what the recipient wants. -- A large majority of respondents (82%) said they like to receive gift cards as presents. -- Of those, most (84%) cited the advantage of using the card to "choose the gift I want, when I want it." -- Women like to receive gifts cards even more than men do (87% vs. 76%). Fun or Functional Gifts: -- Most shoppers want both; 74 percent said they like to receive gifts that are fun and functional. Shopping solutions from Circuit City Cool is in: -- By the end of October, every Circuit City Superstore will carry more than 80 fun, interactive products, such as an atomic clock, talking tire gauge, golf tool gift set, talking pedometer and "bug" massager. Many of these "cool gadgets" are priced below $25.00 and make great, affordable gifts. -- Circuit City will also be the sole consumer electronics retailer to offer Oakley Thump(TM), the world's first digital audio eyewear. Thump, available in stores and on circuitcity.com November 20th, is a state-of-the-art digital audio system that is integrated into the lightweight architecture of Oakley's premium performance eyewear. Customers can choose between a 128 MB version and a 256 MB version. Family solutions: -- From the latest TV technology to a new computer to music and movies, Circuit City has just what shoppers need to give that big family gift. And, shoppers will know when they walk into a Circuit City they'll find the right product at the right price ... along with knowledgeable associates to help them make the right purchasing decision. Online strategy: -- Shoppers will find the newly redesigned circuitcity.com a great destination for research and purchasing. The site features more than one million products, educational articles about different consumer electronics and product reviews submitted by customers. Express Pickup is a popular feature that allows customers to order online and pick up at a nearby Circuit City within 15 minutes. When in doubt: -- Circuit City offers gift cards in denominations from $5 to $9,999 and they can be used in the store or on the Web. * The "Circuit City Just what I needed for the holidays" survey was commissioned by Circuit City Stores, Inc. and was conducted on the Internet by Decision Analyst of Arlington, Texas. More than 2,600 adults responded. The survey's margin of error is +/- 1.9%. About Circuit City Stores, Inc. Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City Stores is a leading specialty retailer of consumer electronics. Circuit City operates 614 Superstores and five mall- based stores in 159 U.S. markets. Its International segment operates through more than 1,000 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. Circuit City also operates a Web site at http://www.circuitcity.com/. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010709/CCLOGO ) http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010709/CCLOGODATASOURCE: Circuit City Stores, Inc. CONTACT: For states A-M: Steve Mullen, +1-804-527-4817, , or for states N-W: Kathie Hess, +1-804-418-8298, , both of Circuit City Stores, Inc. Web site: http://www.circuitcity.com/

Copyright