An estimated 2.5 million consumers say they "plan to purchase" HD sets in time for the Super Bowl on Sunday, which is up 1.7 million from last year, according to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's annual Super Bowl survey. Most consumers surveyed said they had planned to take advantage of advertised retail promotions for HD products.
Apart from HD sales (or perhaps because of it), the survey also found consumers plan on spending a household average of about $56 on Super Bowl-related merchandise such as food, up from last year's nearly $37. Total spending for the Feb. 4 television event is expected to reach $8.7 billion, according to the survey firm, BIGresearch.
About 1.3 million consumers plan to buy "new furniture," including new home entertainment centers, by Sunday, as well. Slightly more than 9 million people plan to watch the game from a restaurant or bar (many of which will have their own HD monitors). The poll of more than 7,700 consumers was conducted the first week of January.
