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Well-stocked shelves await holiday shoppers...unless you are hankering for a new console from Nintendo or Sony. Retailers wishing for booming holiday sales shouldn't be disappointed this year. Forecasts indicate that US consumers will be opening their wallets early and often this season, shelling out $21.7 billion on consumer electronics gifts, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). That's a 27.6 percent jump from last year's total of $17 billion. Consumer electronics sellers should be especially thankful, because those gifts will likely account for a quarter of holiday spending this year, the CEA said.

Though stores will be open early with the best bargains, it looks like you won't have to elbow other shoppers out of the way for any electronics items this year, with the exception of next-generation gaming consoles like the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. Otherwise, consumer electronics retailers are well stocked entering the holiday shopping season, according to Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for the NPD Group.

That product includes everything from massive televisions to miniscule handheld global positioning system devices, all of which consumers are expected to snap up come November 24, or "Black Friday," through Christmas.

Analysts anticipate that flat-panel TVs will lead all consumer electronics sales this holiday season, aided by some bargain Black Friday prices. More high-definition content than ever is available to watch on those wider, thinner screens, and steadily declining prices have made LCD, plasma, microdisplay, and direct-view HD sets increasingly affordable. The prices of flat panels "are right in the sweet spot of what people are looking for," said Baker. "For the first time, they're going to be available to more than just a couple people."