Season's pleadings: clothes, gadgets.

Byline: RETAIL NOTEBOOK By Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

This just in: Clothing is still cool, but you can't go wrong with an iPod Nano.

With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, retailers both nationally and locally are testing markets and looking for signs of what the year's hottest gift-giving crazes may be.

A recent consumer survey by The Macerich Co. - the management company of the Valley River Center and several other shopping centers around the country - shows that clothing, as usual, will be the most common gift choice for the holidays.

But that's so old school.

The same survey suggests that consumer electronics and toys will be next on the wish list, with books or CDs, jewelry and gift certificates not far behind.

To be specific, the Macerich survey taps the iPod Nano (starting at $199) - Apple's new MP3 music player available in 500- or 1,000-song models - and Microsoft's new Xbox 360 ($299.99) video game console as the electronic doodads of the year.

"I can tell you right now, it's going to be very, very limited availability on these things," Matt Geiss, sales manager at Springfield's Best Buy store, said Wednesday. "If these manufacturers would send us these things, we could sell a ton."

At the Toys R Us store in Eugene, store manager Benny Whitmire said his staff is still trying to find the pulse of this year's toy-buying crowd.

"The breakout toy - the Furbys of the past years - nothing like that has really jumped out yet," Whitmire said. "We're waiting for it, though."

Among the potential craze gifts in the toy industry are the Doodle Bear ($11.99), by Play Along; the Nerf Big Bad Bow ($19.95), by Hasbro; and the 1:6 Scale Lincoln Navigator with - get this - built-in MP3 player ($99.99), by Fast Lane.

And if you want to go retro, there is still the Furby - hot toy of the year for 2004 - in a variety of colors for $29.95.

"These are all very popular," said Whitmire, at Toys R Us. "And it's definitely ramping up."

For the record, the Macerich survey identified Barbie and The Magic of Pegasus/Princess Annika ($49.99), by Mattel, as the hottest toy of 2005.

According to the survey, shoppers in the West are expected to spend more than those in any other U.S. region: $684.70, compared to the nationwide average of $655.30.

The survey's gender-specific gift predictions make DVD/CD boxed sets the favorite for women, followed by layered necklaces and something called "embellished sweaters." For men, you apparently can't go wrong with sports tickets, designer jeans or hybrid golf clubs.

A separate holiday gift survey by the Consumer Electronics Association, the leading trade group of the nation's electronics industry, supports the MP3 theory. It predicts that MP3 players will be both the most-purchased and most-wished-for electronic gift of the year, displacing the digital camera (most given) and the plasma TV (most wished for) of 2004.

"The MP3 market has made a huge breakout," said Geiss, at the Springfield Best Buy. "Apple has recognized that, and has come out with a lot of cool stuff. The Apple iPod is the number one seller for the young folks - they really like it because it has the sleek design."

But MP3 players under other brands (about $70 to $150) also are moving well, and are expected to pick up as the Christmas buying season shifts into high gear.

"The standard MP3 players are going to be big, especially with folks who like to work out, or are in the office environment where you can listen to music," Geiss said.

And the not-yet-released Xbox 360 may prove to be the hardest-to-find item on anyone's Christmas list. Geiss said the video game consoles are on a "vendor constraint" - orders are limited - and are expected to remain in short supply when they hit the market after Thanksgiving.

"Remember the Furbys?" Geiss said. "You couldn't find them. And the exact same thing is going to happen with the Xbox 360. I can guarantee you, we're going to be out of it as soon as it hits the street."

Retail Notebook runs on Thursdays. Joe Mosley can be reached at 338-2384 or [e-mail].

CAPTION(S):

The iPod Nano, shown docked to a speaker system, will be among the hottest-selling and most-wished-for gifts of the coming holiday season, according to a recent survey.