Market analysis firm DisplaySearch has released its sales figures for LCD televisions during the third quarter of 2009, and delivered a bit of a surprise: worldwide sales were up compared to the same quarter last year on a unit basis, the first time the industry has seen an increase in the number of sets sold in a year. Furthermore, DisplaySearch is forecasting a 22 percent increase in sales during 2010, with sales of over 170 million units as developed markets like Japan, Western Europe, and North America buy into flat screen TVs, as well as emerging markets like China.
DisplaySearch found that some of the upsurge in demand during 2009 was for smaller screen sizes (less than 40 inches) where per-unit prices are often below $500—and part of that is all about price, since prices for most screen sizes fell 20 to 30 percent during 2009 compared to 2008, with the average LCD TV price dropping 24 percent during the year. However, DisplaySearch expects demand for larger sets to pick up in 2010 as economic conditions impact, and technologies like LED backlighting and 3D will fuel demand at higher price points.
DisplaySearch is also tracking sales of LCD televisions by frame rate: where 100/120 Hz units accounts for 26 percent of LCD TV revenue in 2009, 200/240Hz unit accounts for just 5 percent of sales. However, DisplaySearch estimates that by 2013 the high-framerate sets will account for almost 20 percent of sales, while the 100/120Hz unit will grow to about 31 percent of sales: all that will come at the expense of sales of sets running at 50/60Hz.
If sales of all televisions—LCD, plasma, and CRTs—increase as anticipated during the first quarter of 2010, it ill be the first year-on-year quarterly improvement in revenue the television market has seen for six quarters.
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