Market researcher InStat has released the results of its survey on holiday shoppers plans for consumer electronics purchases this year, and the interesting news is that high definition products take the first and fourth positions on the top five product category list:

• HDTVs
• Notebook PCs
• Digital cameras
• Blu-ray players
• Desktop PCs

One interesting point is that while HDTVs also topped the list last year, this year consumers apparently are less likely to purchase one. The company press release states what may seem obvious to many observers: “In-Stat believes the economy is continuing to take a toll on consumer spending.

Early reports from Black Friday sales indicate that the models smaller than 40 are selling briskly, but there is less interest in the larger sizes. Thats not too surprising, given the difference in price between a 32 and a 42 model. So while retailers may have smaller inventories than last year, you may reasonably expect to be able to find plenty of products to choose from if youre shopping for something 40 or larger. I dont think youll save much by waiting, however, and you do run the risk of some models selling out. So if you are serious about getting a large flat panel TV this year, youll probably do best to shop for it in the next week or so.