What They Say
DSCC published a blog post that pointed out that although US consumer inflation is continuing to rise, but TV price drops have reduced slightly to around 18.6% Y/Y, a slightly smaller Y/Y price drop than the 19.8% recorded in August 2022. The firm thinks that TV pricing will slow in its rate of fall as the panel prices have also slowed in their rate of decline, but with a 5 month lag.
DSCC has dug back into the history of US TV pricing and shows the very unusual period during Covid of TV price changes that went counter to the long term trend of TV pricing falling faster than inflation continuously. There’s a chart of TV pricing changes vs panel pricing on the blog.
What We Think
My poor wife has had to put up with, for decades, comments from me expressing amazement at the number of transistors that could be squeezed into a single chip. She has also had to sit patiently while I reflect on the ridiculously cost and fantastic performance of modern TVs. The changes in each are related, of course, but each is something of a modern miracle.
This year is already seeing a lot of very, very good deals as we head to Black Friday and there may still be more to come as retailers and brands align their inventory. Last year was notable for the relative lack or small impact of special holiday pricing, but this year it is back with a vengeance. (BR)
Y/Y % Change in US Consumer Price Index, 1997-2022 – Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, DSCC Analysis
