Flatscreen TV sales slide in SE Asia

The total sales volume of flat panel TV continues to slow in six key Southeast Asian markets monitored by research house GfK.

But consumer demand for ultra-high definition (UHD) models has spiked exponentially in the past year to help fuel the strong growth of this segment as well as the overall value growth of the TV market.

According to GfK’s point of sales tracking in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, the 11.8 million TV sets sold in April 2014 to March 2015 marks a 2.9 per cent drop compared with the same period a year ago. However, robust sales of the higher value UHD models managed to drive up dollar value generated by the entire TV market by 2.9 per cent.

“With the near completion of switchover trend in developing Southeast Asian countries, consumers are now focusing on upgrading to the latest screen technology,” said Gerard Tan, account director for Digital World in GfK.

“Manufacturers and retailers have been aggressively launching attractive promotions to stimulate take up rates.”

The six individual countries reported surges in sales value of their respective UHD TV markets in the range of 20 to 77 per cent, with Singapore (77 per cent), Indonesia (67 per cent) and Vietnam (47 per cent) registering the fastest growth. In unit terms, sales volume from a year ago climbed  in the range of nine to 37 per cent – led by Singapore and Indonesia (37 per cent) and followed by Vietnam (23 per cent).

According to GfK findings, the UHD segment contributed nearly eight per cent of the region’s TV sales dollars; accounting for US$354 million – an increment of 280 per cent over the same period the year before. Penetration is highest in the most developed market of Singapore, where more than one in every 10 (13 per cent) of sets sold UHD.

The rising share of UHD in the TV market has also resulted in the average price of a UHD TV falling around 61 per cent, from US$5500 to $2160.

Meanwhile, the most commonly purchased screen size for this segment is 41”-50”, making up 35 per cent in share of the UHD sales volume.

“TV technology is constantly evolving, and with each new launch, we see the progression of consumers moving from small to big screens, with affordability increasing over time,” said Tan.

“Moving forward into the rest of 2015, we can expect to see rising excitement in the UHD TV market as manufacturers battle for the consumer dollar with more offerings at more attractive prices; and at the end of the day, consumer s are the ones who get to enjoy the good deals resulting from the fierce competition,” he concluded.

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