Last year was a downright gruesome scene for some wholesale and retail specialists, as consumer spending hit rather scary low figures, and the usual myriad of reliable trends and predictability schemes were tossed out the window… making the big question this year revolve around what the future brings for the holiday season in 2009. While there will undoubtedly be a lot of shopping going on (since the USA is largely comprised of a consumer-based economy), it’s no secret that the average consumer will exercise a great deal of caution this time around, and only the sellers who prepare for this renewed environment of customer pre-shopping mentality can hope to catch a substantial part of the revenue that will be flowing into the usual sales channels. The good news, however, is that for those dealing in computers and electronics… this could be a victorious year-end!

It’s been some time since we’ve seen a buyer’s market like this, and it looks like things will not be stabilizing for some time. Computers and electronics are now being manufactured by pretty much everyone from the USA… to the deepest and most underdeveloped regions of China… and this means that there will be a lot of choices for consumers to direct their dollars towards. You should be paying attention to what the people are reading and hearing, in order to prepare yourself for the choices you’ll have to make regarding what kind of gear to stock, what kind of deals to put on the table, and what sort of after-sales service will be received with the most appreciation by the current crop of savvy buyers.

First of all, the notion that consumers simply follow advertising and marketing hype is an old strategy that has met its end. Today’s consumer is smart, picky, and willing to wait. Too many people have been burned since 2008 to allow the same thing to happen again… and this means that your service, attitude, and follow-through will determine what kind of success you enjoy for the following years to come.

Secondly, there’s a lot of information being passed around, but it seems to follow a very predictable pattern: electronics are the hottest pick this year, as manufacturers and distributors are rallying to get buyers excited about their merchandise… and the merchandise has never shown such signs of being categorized as low-hanging fruit before. Yes, that’s right… love it or hate it, this is a buyer’s market in the realm of electronics, and you should be very watchful of the trends.

Okay, without being overly-dramatic… here is my list of items to keep your eyes on for this year’s electronics gold rush. In fact, I’ll just put it in another convenient TopTen list format, and let you decide what to do from there:

• Netbooks are going to be the champs in 2009, but there’s two sides to this story. They offer a counterpoint to the question of getting more bang for your buck. How much bang? Well, not blisteringly-fast processor speeds or incredible graphics performance… but for under about $200 bucks, that’s not a big problem for the consumer who seeks a laptop PC on the cheap. These will be coming out of the woodwork  at every turn, and people shopping for the low-cost answer to their portable computing questions will be happy to see them.
• Low-end notebook PC prices are also going to take a dive, as the netbooks create a huge competition factor that keeps the manufacturers from charging the prices they’d like to put forth this year. Even Apple is putting a new plastic-bodied low-cost alternative to the iBook on the shelves this year, in response to the tightened consumer purse strings that have all of the PC makers stressed out.
• Thanks for the memories… GB and MB of memory, that is. I’ve never seen memory so low. I remember when I was in college, a 250MB SyQuest drive (remember those?) cost me about $200 per disk. Nowadays, I just paid about RMB300 for a 1TB drive… and in the USA the prices are hovering around 5 cents per GB, so I expect to find 1TB USB 2.0 external hard drives for $49 bucks or so.
• Software is a necessary evil, but that might change pretty soon. I’ve mentioned cloud-based apps in past posts… and I do believe they will eventually put an end to the deluge of software that is sold for prices that sometimes make people think twice about even getting a PC. The pirate market has put a dent in the biz, too… and it only makes my suspicion that cloud computing will make all that software even cheaper. You should be looking for the price drops, and passing the savings along to your customers.
• LCD monitors can make all the difference between a good Internet-browsing session, and an amazing experience with your PC, time after time. be prepared to offer your customers the styles and sizes they want, at the prices they can afford.
• Game systems are not to be ignored, as people look for something relatively benign in a toxic world of job layoffs, company closures, and housing crises. Personally, I believe that the gaming industry is going to change the way we look at the computer screen… but it might be a little while before things fall into place. For now, it would be a good idea to offer your customers the selection of games and hardware that makes the difference.
• TV sets can bring the experience to you in a better light, and the bigger they are, the better. Prices are also dropping, and even with the maker of those coveted HDTV sets crowing about how amazing their picture quality is, many consumers will be looking for size, not razor-sharpness.
• Blu-ray disc players might be like the beloved beta cassette recorders of yesteryear (no, I don’t think Blu-ray will change the landscape of optical media as we know it) but this time – unlike the days of beta vs VHS – you won’t be stuck with useless discs that don’t play on any other piece of hardware. Where the beta cassettes went wrong was being unusable on any other system… this time around, the Blu-ray disc is compatible with just about any PC that has a decent set of codecs installed, and will be useful as long as the price is low. Consumers will be appreciative of any seller who can explain the mysteries of recording onto disc, and provide the answers to questions regarding their Blu-ray purchases.
• Digital picture frames might not be the sexiest of these items, but they are truly an idea that has become a reality. While many people might have been hesitant to make the switch from those yellowing, faded glossy prints from a one-hour lab that were printed in 1982… it’s going to be hard for people to fight the urge to put their favorite pictures on display – in a slideshow, even – for prices around $30 or less.
• GPS is the new best friend of tech-savvy delivery drivers, salespeople, and long-distance drivers everywhere… why let them have all the fun, as more people get used to the idea that a GPS system for their car is not really a luxury, but a necessity in these crazy days of finding the places you are supposed to be in, amidst all the traffic and chaos? If it helps any, I can tell you that Chinese car owners are one of the fastest-growing consumer segments in the GPS arena.

There it is… the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly… especially if you’re looking to position yourself for some extreme holiday sales this year! Don’t forget to check in with us from time to time, and maybe even bookmark the Toptenwholesale.com site as one of your favorites, so you don’t miss the news as it comes down the pipeline! Good luck with your holiday wholesaling! Be sure to utilize our helpful search feature to effectively Find it. Source it. Profit!