As the holiday season approaches, students will be once again looking for gifts that fit their connected lifestyles.
The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that in Nov. and Dec. 2005 retail sales were approximately 550 billion dollars. This accounted for nearly 20 percent of retail sales for the entire year. It looks as though 2006 will follow suit.
Aiding this strong growth may be the apparent lack of concern over recent laptop battery recalls. Even with a worldwide recall of more than 9.6 million batteries due to certain batteries overheating, and in some instances, bursting into flames, students do not appear worried.
""I don't know that it affected computer sales at all, because all of the new computers have batteries that are more reliable,"" said DoIT employee Brian Rust.
Aside from computer sales, there have been worries that consumer electronics growth may not be as great as in previous years. The Consumer Electronics Association expects sales to increase 8.8 percent from last year, but down from the 10 percent increase seen in 2005.
Students can also expect to see two new gaming consoles that will be released before the holiday season. The Playstation 3 from Sony and Nintendo's Wii console are sure to be in high demand, as both will have limited stocking on release.
For students looking to save money this holiday season, there are several new cash-back sites that have emerged to help consumers save an extra buck. These sites receive a bonus from retailers when consumers buy through their site, and these sites then pass on those savings to the customer.
Fatwallet.com, is a community website that contains hot deals and also features cash back for consumers.
""The fourth quarter is of course the top shopping months of the year and our website traffic will really peak on Black Friday,"" said Jim McIlroy, marketing manager for FatWallet.
Jellyfish.com, a new startup centered in Madison, hopes to become the Internet's first ""buying engine,"" with cash back. Jellyfish promises to share at least half of what it earns in referrals with the customer, and has just secured $5 million in funding to expand and market Jellyfish.
In addition, Paypal is joining in this season with cash back up to $20 on several thousand merchants' sites. Paypal will offer a cash back rebate program worth $100 million dollars available to consumers over the period from November 23rd through May 15th.
