With consumer television prices falling, global shipments of OLED TVs grew 133% year-on-year, reaching a new monthly record of 270,000 units in November 2017, during the lead-up to the holiday shopping season. This growth comes as falling prices placed 55″ Ultra HD OLED into the budget range of a greater number of high-end holiday shoppers, according to IHS Markit.
Overall global LCD TV shipments in November slightly declined by 1.6% month-on-month, falling to 24.4 million units, as Black Friday demand in the United States declined in 2017 compared to the prior year. Total OLED TV shipments from January through November 2017 surpassed 1.3 million units. Together with December estimates, overall OLED TV shipments are likely to exceed 1.4 million units shipped in 2017. Ken Park, associate director at IHS Markit, said:
“In 2017, the landscape for OLED TV brands changed as Sony, Toshiba and other major brands began selling OLED TVs. The growing number of available OLED TV choices, especially high-profile Japanese and European brands, has resulted in more competition and pricing promotion activity in the OLED TV market”.
LG dominated the OLED TV market in 2016, accounting for around 92% of all units shipped, while several Chinese brands accounted for most of the remaining shipments. During the weeks surrounding Black Friday 2017, LG dropped the price of its entry-level B7 series 55″ and 65″ UHD OLED TVs by $200, pricing its lowest tier 55″ B7 model at $1,499.
LG led overall OLED TV shipment volume in November, with a 31% month-on-month increase in shipments. Total year-on-year 55″ OLED TV shipments rose 123% in November, while 65″ shipments grew 157%.
