Sigmaintell of China has issued data on the Chinese monitor market which fell to 16 million units in the first half of 2016, down 9% compared to last year, with 7.8 million shipped in Q1, down 8%. In Q2, they rose to 8.2 million, down 10% on 2016. The company cited a drop in demand for internet cafes and a mismatch between the product mix in the supply chain and market demand.
The market shifted to larger sizes in 2017, with the share of 22″ going up from 44% to 52% globally, the company said, but brands were promoting smaller sizes, although margins on these smaller monitors were close to zero because of high panel prices. This has now been corrected with panel prices falling and more medium size monitors being made, so the company expects some recovery in volumes.
Curved monitors hit around 2.5 million in the first half, but that was down 50% compared to last year when internet cafes were booming and buying. Now, the company says, many cafes have closed, although there has been some boost that may help the market to recover in the second half, especially if brands adjust their marketing to sell more to consumers.
Monitors for ESports are growing in volume, but at a slower rate than expected because of the high premium for specialist gaming monitors and the firm reported the share as just 1%. However, those buying for this application are buying QHD sets. In the overall market, sets of resolutions above QHD are just 2%.
The Chinese monitor market has been down this year. Data:Sigmaintell. Image:Meko
