PriceGrabber, a part of Experian, has released its second holiday spending consumer behavior report, "A Deep Dive into Online Holiday Spending Trends." And it's good news for the iPhone and iPad.

In PriceGrabber's holiday survey, consumers were asked which smartphone they would prefer to receive as a gift this holiday season. The iPhone took the lead, with 47% of consumers choosing the iPhone 4 over other smartphones. Twenty-two percent of shoppers prefer the Motorola Droid, and 13% choose the RIM Blackberry Torch as the smartphone they would like to receive.

When it comes to devices that consumers prefer for e-reading, 59% of consumers selected the iPad as their device of choice. Twenty-one percent of consumers pick the Amazon Kindle. Five percent selected the Barnes & Noble Nook, and 3% choose the Dell Streak as their preferred e-reader.

Tablet computers are forecast to be one of the most popular technology gadget gifts this holiday season. The number of searches performed on PriceGrabber for the keyword "tablet" has already more than tripled (330%), compared to the same period last year (Oct. 1-27, 2009, versus Oct. 1-27, 2010). The keyword "tablet pc" has increased in popularity by 76%.

While the Apple iPad is expected to continue its dominance in the tablet market, other winners emerging in this category include the Sony VAIO Tablet PC, based on PriceGrabber visits compared to the same period last year (Oct. 1-27, 2009, versus Oct. 1-27, 2010). Other popular tablets include Toughbook 19 Tablet PC and Asus Tablet PC.

The report includes responses from 1,839 online consumers planning to spend this holiday season collected between Sept. 14 and Oct. 6. Survey data reveals more optimistic holiday spending trends, with online winning more share of total holiday dollars spent, as well as intense price and product wars.

According to survey data, 2010 is expected to have a more optimistic outlook for holiday gift spending when compared to last year. Of online consumers who revealed they plan to spend money on holiday gifts this year, 66% said that they plan to spend US$500 or more on holiday gifts. Last year, 59% of consumers spent $500 or more on gifts. This year, the average amount that holiday shoppers plan to spend on holiday gifts is $845.  

According to survey data, the average 2010 holiday shopper will make 57% of his or her holiday purchases online, 40% in brick-and-mortar stores and 3% from a mobile phone.

Consumers are not only turning to the Internet this holiday season, but also developing new savings techniques based on retail behavior from the previous year. Last year, competition among retailers for the lowest prices on the most popular products sparked fierce "price wars." This year, 80% of consumers revealed they are planning to monitor price wars on their favorite products to ensure they are getting the best deal. Twenty percent of consumers are not planning to monitor price wars.

"Last year, we saw large-scale price wars between major retailers, which resulted in deeply discounted products. This year, we expect especially competitive price wars beginning early in the season," says Laura Conrad, president of PriceGrabber. "Shoppers need to evaluate the benefit of monitoring price wars for the lowest price versus potentially missing out on the most popular products of the season."

Retailers are not the only ones who will be fighting it out for the consumer dollar this holiday season. With many new products on the market, PriceGrabber expects to see stiff competition among popular products, especially in the categories of smartphones, e-readers and tablets.