Lower priced electronic items are what consumers want

The slower economy is making consumers shop differently and the change can be felt across all sectors. Take consumer electronics for instance, shoppers are selecting items that are lower priced than they would have previously bought, such as buying a Canon PowerShot A470 camera for $129 instead of buying Canon G-series camera that costs around $500. Many shoppers are setting themselves budgets that they feel comfortable spending and do not go over it.

The most affected have been the larger ticket items such as flat screen televiisons, Blu-ray DVD players and so on. Items that have gained are smaller and lower priced items such as digital cameras, digital photo frames, MP3 players and so on, all things that are usually priced under $200. According to Susan Kevorkian, a retail analyst at market research firm IDC, "It's money that a consumer can part with ... without compromising other financial priorities or other parts of their lifestyle."

Consumer electronic retailers have already noticed the trend and are increasing their selection of these lower priced technology products to tempt shoppers. Canon has increased its lower priced cameras, those that sell for less than $200 to three from two last year, and its $129 camera is the lowest that it's ever manufactured.

Personal computers are also looking recession-proof these days. Analysts and computer vendors say that PCs do well even in uncertain times because the machines are fast becoming a commodity necessary for school, work or simple communication.

PC makers such as AsusTek Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have in the past year added smaller bare-bones notebook computers to their lineup. An EEE PC made by AsusTek costs $300 and targets users who mainly intend to surf the Internet and send email, says Donald Leung, a product manager for the company. Meanwhile H-P's Mini-Note PC costs $500 and aims to attract both students and traveling professionals.