Plentiful electronic deals are a win for consumers

— -- After years of strong demand, the 2011 holiday season could go down as the year the Grinch stole HDTV sales, and much more in the way of consumer electronics.

With declining categories such as GPS devices and computers, no new must-have videogame console, and little buzz beyond tablets as the next big must-have gadget, consumer electronics is poised to have a blue holiday.

"I don't think the outlook is good on an overall basis," says Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at the NPD Group. "We're seeing some slowdown on volume, but more to the point, where we are seeing volume, we are seeing a lot of price competition."

The winner in all this could be the consumer, says Baker, as the hallmark for the holidays will be price competition, with retailers piling on the sales to get consumers to buy.

"Consumers pretty much win every year around the holidays," says Baker. "They get great products at great prices, and this year could mean a more aggressive one for consumers."

Much of this comes because of a slowdown in the flat-panel and HDTV market, which after years of strong holiday seasons has run its course. According to DisplaySearch/NPD Group, TV sales have seen a decline in North America, Japan, and Western Europe, with total TV unit demand for 2011 expected to be flat, and with growth coming mainly from emerging markets. Globally, LED and 3-D TV sales are also helping keep the market prices stable, while LED will likely become the dominant LCD format in 2012. But so far, consumers aren't buying like they once did.

"There really isn't a compelling reason to upgrade for most people that already own an HDTV," Jordan Selburn, principal analyst, consumer platforms, at iSuppli tells CNBC. This means consumers are sticking to a traditional replacement cycle rather than upgrading to something new, he said.

The 3-D displays still lack content, and for what content there is, viewers must wear cumbersome glasses, Selburn says.

"3-D lacks a mode that's conducive to use it," says Selburn. "With the glasses, you can't do anything but watch the TV. And many people do more than just stare at the screen."

At last year's Consumer Electronics Show, the push was with connectivity, notably Internet-connected TVs, but Selburn says these still are only on the cusp of catching on, and that won't likely help move sales this holiday.

Even the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry's trade group, isn't surprised that the once hot HDTV market has gone cold.

"We predicted a decline of HDTV before anybody in the U.S. domestic market," says Shawn DuBravac, CEA's chief economist and director of research. "Since 2009 we were predicting a TV decline, and moreover we see the TV market to continue to decline until about 2014 or 2015."

DuBravac says the category is declining, but with 98% of households owning a TV, and many owning three; there is little room for growth right now.

Consumers also expect their sets to last 10 years, and after the rush to adoption, many consumers are now in that replacement cycle. Despite this fact, DuBravac says the sub-categories of HDTV, including LED and 3D are actually up significantly, but still far from enough to drive the category's sales.