In the Great Depression, people went to the movies to lighten their mood. In the recession of 2009, they bought a flat-screen TV.
It was a smaller one than they would have liked, but it was cheaper and they could still watch movies, sports and Desperate Housewives in high definition.
This led to sales of 211m TVs globally in 2009, defying all predictions at its outset, according to year-end reports from the DisplaySearch and iSuppli research firms.
DisplaySearch says “shipments far exceeded initial expectations as consumers snapped up discounted products”.
Worldwide flat-panel TV shipments grew by 37 per cent on a unit basis, compared to 34 per cent growth in 2008. LCD TV average selling prices (ASPs) fell 24 per cent over the previous year and in the final quarter, LCD shipments rose 50 per cent year-on-year.
The lower ASPs were due to reduced component costs and decreasing margins for brands and retailers as they responded to the consumer demand for lower price points.
“We saw a lot more compromise on size and features in 2009, with a greater number of consumers perhaps opting to upgrade smaller secondary sets and postpone getting a larger living room set than we would have seen in a normal economy,” said Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV market research for DisplaySearch.
In the fourth quarter, Samsung had the biggest TV market share globally at 23.6 per cent, followed by LG with 13 per cent and Sony with 11.5 per cent.
Sony also had to settle for third place in LCD TV sales in the US on an annual basis, according to iSuppli figures, as it was outmanoeuvred by a pincer movement from Samsung and US-based Vizio.
Samsung caught Sony napping with the success of its LED-backlit TVs, while Vizio continued to undercut it on price.
Vizio was number one in the US, with 5.9m units shipped for an 18.7 per cent market share, with Samsung in second with 5.6m units and 17.7 per cent. Sony trailed in third with 3.7m units and 11.6 per cent.
Vizio’s unit shipments almost doubled from just over 3m in 2008 as it surged past Samsung and Sony to the top spot.
Riddhi Patel, iSuppli director of television systems and retail services, said: “The company already has established itself as the price leader in LCD TVs. The company played to this strength in 2009 by offering attractive promotions to consumers. Furthermore, Vizio moved to make its LCD TV products more competitive with premium brands, adding higher-end features such as LED backlights and Internet connectivity.”
Sony did hit back in the fourth quarter as it belatedly cut prices and introduced Christmas season promotions, including bundling TVs with PlayStation 3 consoles and Blu-ray players. It share of 13.2 per cent was up from 7.7 per cent in the third quarter.
Sony’s big push in 2010 is for 3D TV, but the technology is likely too new and expensive to lead a revival in its market share numbers.
