NEW YORK – It’s all about connections for electronics giants like Circuit City and Best Buy during this back-to-school shopping season.
Stores are seeing strong demand from college-age consumers for technology that allows music players and digital cameras to send and receive information from their computers.
“There’s a big push for connectivity,” said Tracey Malone, manager of a Best Buy in Manhattan.
A “media center extender,” which links pictures and other files between a computer and television screen, go for $149 to $299. And a $79 “XBox extender” lets dorm residents on study breaks play on the big screen.
Best Buy said one of the newer tech items, the $99 Apple iH5, is flying off the shelves. It’s an iPod-adapted clock radio that lets users wake up to their favorite music rather than a blaring alarm or a local radio station.
With only a few hot new items hitting the stores, consumers are seeing prices for such staples as computers falling even more than they would in a typical year, analysts said.
Indeed, Britt Beemer of America’s Research Group estimates that computer prices have dropped an average of 12 percent from last year.
That’s good news for college shoppers, who are expected to increase electronics spending by $700 million this year to $8.2 billion, the second-biggest buying category behind textbooks, according to a survey released this week from the National Retail Federation.
The average freshman plans to spend $1,151.68, with slightly less than half of that on electronics, according to the NRF.
While parents are focused on cost, college students are often focused on size and portability.
A recent Best Buy survey showed that of all the potential stresses an incoming college freshman faces – from success with the books to fitting in with the campus social scene – living in close quarters with a still-unknown roommate tops their list of concerns by a wide margin.
More than three-quarters of those responding said they were stressing over whether the typical 12-by-15-foot dorm room they’re set to move into will be able to hold all their stuff.
That’s why, when it comes to bringing the required tech toys to school, small is in. While college dorm rooms haven’t gotten any bigger over the years, technology has allowed the tools for studying, listening to music and staying connected to shrink remarkably.
“We’re focusing on small and portable items,” said Malone. A tiny iPod, he pointed out, can store data and voice files along with music.
Apart from the desire to link up different technology, consumers continue to look for ways to keep their electronics small.
“Portability is really important, most schools are a wireless environment,” said New York University junior Andrew Buck, who was browsing laptops at Best Buy for his sister Allison, about to begin her freshman year at Cornell.
That all goes a long way to saving space in a tight dorm room. The only catch? The stuff is expensive.
Functional notebook computers from the likes of Gateway, Toshiba and Compaq, complete with DVD players, range from under $1,000 to as much as $3,000, depending on the amount of memory and the number of bells and whistles.
A flat-screen TV usually goes for $599 to $1,400, depending on size and clarity.
For an extra $150 to $200, parents can send their kids off with a gift certificate for Best Buy’s “Geek Squad,” which provides support service for their computers almost anywhere in the country.
Derrick Johns, who manages a Circuit City store in Manhattan, said students are gobbling up CD burners and digital cards like the mini cruiser, which cost $19.99, and like an iPod, can hold both music and data.
He also noted that students and teachers can secure half-price discounts on Microsoft Office software – so word processing, spreadsheets and PowerPoint graph needs can be taken care of for about $150.
And for parents who worry about the tendency of dorm life to get “active,” especially on weekends, Circuit City peddles accidental damage coverage for their machines. It typically costs $200, though the price can vary depending on the computer’s value and the precise coverage terms.
“With crazy parties in college, you get a lot of spills and bumps,” Johns said.
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