Hundreds of Black Friday shoppers participated in an October 2010 survey conducted by BlackFriday.com to give insights into U.S. consumer expectations for Black Friday shopping this season, shedding light on both shopper sentiment and a new set of highly desired products.

2010 Black Friday Consumer Expectations

The Black Friday survey reveals that 91 percent of U.S. consumers expect retail Black Friday activity to be at least as big as 2009 and nearly 60 percent believe it will be much bigger.

2010 Black Friday Consumer Product Preferences

When asked what types of products are exciting consumers the most this Black Friday, electronic devices topped the list.

Product Category% Interested Electronic devices 59% DVDs or Blu-rays 49% Clothing 48% Video Games or Systems 45% Computers 44% Toys 38% Music or music-related products 25% Home appliances 25% Gift certificates 21% Home furnishings 16% Jewelry 14% Software 13%

Black Friday Shopper 2010 Predictions

When asked to predict the hottest individual product for Black Friday 2010, the 15 most popular responses were:

1. Apple iPad
2. Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect
3. Apple iPhone
4. Sony HDTV
5. Blu-Ray
6. HTC Droid
7. Canon Digital Camera
8. Samsung 3D TV
9. Dell Laptop
10. Amazon Kindle
11. Apple iPod Touch
12. HP Mini Netbook
13. Flip Video Camcorder
14. VIZIO LCD HDTV
15. Xbox 360 Gaming Console

Electronics seemed to dominate the Black Friday hottest item predictions, but some took a stab at guessing what the non-gaming toy craze would be in 2010:

1. Zhu Zhu pets
2. Pillow pets (and Pillow pals)
3. Disney Tangle toys (related to Thanksgiving week movie)
4. Beyblades
5. Paper Jamz

If these 2010 Black Friday predictions ring true, it appears 2010 will be the year of LCDs--from iPads to large flat-screens TVs. Given the price and uncertainty that surrounds 3D TVs, we expect most people will be happy sticking with flat-screen HDTVs. Gaming accessories and cell phones could also see explosive growth. We expect high volume Black Friday sales for retailers who carry electronics, including Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Amazon.com and Apple Stores.

Speaking of Apple, marketers may want to use Apple iPods, iPhones, or iPads as contest prizes because Apple doesn’t typically offer discounts during Black Friday (other than free shipping).