Laptops will be at top of Black Friday shopping lists this year

Suburban residents won't have televisions at the top of their holiday technology wish lists, if they mirror a national trend identified in a trade association study.

Televisions, which were in the top spot last year, have dropped slightly on the annual Consumer Technology Association list. Technology spending for this holiday season, which is considered from October through December, is projected to hit $97.1 billion in the United States, up slightly from $96.1 billion nationwide in 2018.

Laptop computers lead the association's Top Five list of tech gifts consumers most want to receive. Smartphones ranked second, followed by TVs, computer tablets and wearable devices.

Knocked off the in-demand list were desktop computers and cameras, which ranked fifth last year.

To complement the gizmos, the association's 26th annual consumer technology holiday purchase patterns study shows 7 in 10 U.S. adults intend to buy a content-related gift. That means it could be a video game or streaming services.

"We are in the golden age of content as more people consume more content across more devices," Lesley Rohrbaugh, the Consumer Technology Association's director of market research, said in a statement.

According to the study, more consumers are looking toward emerging technology this year for gifts. About 59% of adults plan to buy home devices such as a smart doorbell, camera or light bulb.

Digital assistant products including Amazon Echo and Google Home will remain on holiday shopping lists, but the category isn't as hot as in past years.

While the association expects 11.3 million digital assistant units to ship this season, that would be a 42% decline over 2018 because TVs and other devices now incorporate many of those services.

Regular brick-and-mortar stores will sell the most tech gifts this year, with 87% of consumers indicating that's where they'll spend their money.

The association survey shows 80% intend to shop online, with 65% of such consumers using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.