All I want for Christmas... is a flatscreen

It has become a cliché to dwell on the piteous commercialization of Christmas; yet, rather surprisingly, the classic Christian rule “giving is better than getting” still proves to be true even in the time of financial crisis. According to statistics, the same amount of plasma TVs are being sold as in previous years, despite the economic recession we are experiencing today.
Zoltán Szánthó, Concept Manager of Media Markt Hungary talks to The Budapest Sun about Christmas shopping for electronic gadgets and whether the crisis has affected Media Markt’s business four weeks before Christmas.   
“The Christmas shopping season traditionally starts mid-November; however, the demand for electronic goods intended as Christmas presents tends to increase as of the beginning of November. The way the business is going is in compliance with our expectations, in that we managed to expand our business in both October and November, compared to last year’s figures. All in all, we have not experienced the negative impact of the financial crisis”.

Popular gifts

“The number of purchases based on commercial credit has decreased by a small percent; at the same time however, the number of payments that have succeeded through the payment of cash or credit cards has increased. Various forms of commercial credits provided by two of our partner banks can be claimed at the Media Markt department stores. The 0% APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is a great success every year and will therefore be offered in our stores this year as well”.
“I expect Media Markt’s business to triple in December thanks to Christmas shopping, as customary. Based on the current demand, I do not predict any major changes regarding this year’s commercial hits, which are likely to remain the plasma and LCD Televisions and the highly popular navigational systems. A significant fall in the prices of the latter goods has made these modern gadgets available for a growing number of customers. A 107-cm-diatemeter plasma TV cost over Ft200 thousand  last year whereas today its price today is less than Ft150 thousand”.
MP3 and MP4 players, the storage capacity of which is constantly increasing, shall probably continue to be popular. Notebooks, cameras, mobile phones, toy brackets, CDs and DVDs are a success every year.
The demand for electric kitchen equipments is expected to be outstanding before Christmas.
Popular presents for women so far have been bread machines, irons and kitchen robots. “We also offer a wide range of espresso machines and automatic coffee machines, an item which is frequently given to workers by employers for Christmas. Beauty machines to apply for hair, teeth or the face - such as hairdryers, hair-curlers and straighteners, shaves, electronic toothbrushes or wellness products like massage machines or tanning equipments become extremely sought for before Christmas. This year we anticipate a growing need for washing machines”.
“Media Markt gift cards have been introduced recently, and have become extremely popular by now. I believe this is an ideal present for those who do not yet know how to surprise their loved ones at Christmas”.