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Electronics retailers may be bouncing back from a long slump, according to a couple of recent reports.

The US economy took a severe downturn last year following the terrorist attacks of September 11, and this year has been hit by the stock market's decline in the wake of the accounting scandal–fueled collapse of Enron and WorldCom, Inc. Electronics retailers have ridden out the slump fairly well, buoyed by a consumer trend toward "cocooning," or putting their disposable income into their homes. For most retailers, the popularity of DVD and home theater has offset diminishing sales of stand-alone audio.

Some ultra-high-end two-channel specialists may still be singing the blues, but others in the electronics retailing business are humming happier tunes.

The last months of 2002 were uneven ones for electronics retailers. American consumers, apparently trying to stretch their home entertainment dollars as far as possible, patronized discount stores while bypassing more upscale competitors.

The terrorist attack of September 11 will likely worsen an already dark period for American retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by more than 14% in the week after the attack, the largest slide since the week of July 21, 1933. In the present circumstances, Americans are generally reticent to spend money, according to many reports, a situation that will affect manufacturers and retailers for months or years to come.

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