Executives of Real, however, said consumers drawn by XP to experiment with digital music and video would gravitate to Real's products.

Recession-pressed consumers, short on time as well as money, are gravitating in increasing numbers to more modest, compact centers, the industry experts say.

Rule concedes that "suppliers and consumers will gravitate toward the most widely disseminated standard, regardless of whether it is technically the best."

Nonetheless, certain trends tend to emerge over the weekend and resonate through the season, and Black Friday often lifts the curtain on what consumers are gravitating toward.

Some consumers have gravitated to DVD because of special features not available on VHS.

"In the next year or two, consumers will gravitate toward proprietary gift certificates because that's what they're used to," he said.

Now, as consumers are gravitating to broadband, AOL has lost members at home to high-speed services from phone and, especially, cable companies.

Licensees say consumers still gravitate toward the Anne Klein name despite the turmoil.

Growth, once robust, has slowed significantly as consumers gravitate to other ways to watch movies at home like videotapes and pay-per-view television.

Both suppliers and consumers will gravitate toward , regardless of whether it is technically the best.