Department stores cotton onto iPods

Department stores are shifting their primary attention back onto high-tech gadgets and accessories, according to reports released today.

Products such as the iPod with its associated array of accessories including skins, headphones and novelty socks, are refocusing the marketing strategies of stores throughout major cities.

The news reverses a decade-old trend of fashion clothing items outselling electronic goods.

Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL Strategic Retail said: "It's a recognition that these new electronics have become the must-haves as opposed to a new sweater.

"Fashion is no longer what I put on my body in terms of fabrics, but it is also what I put on my body in terms of technology."

The news comes after recently-released figures announced iPod sales had risen to 5.74 million, with iPod revenue more than quadrupling from $121 million to $537 million in the same period from last year.