The latest data from European display specialist Meko shows that sales of monitors grew by an encouraging 26.5% in the final quarter of 2010, compared to the previous quarter.
In total, 13.4 million monitors were sold across the EMEA region in the fourth quarter of last year, a small reduction compared to the same period in 2009, but a large increase over a low third quarter.
Meko’s monitor analyst, Azhar Mohd-Hashim, commented, “Worries about the weather and the heavy snow before Christmas did not hamper the sale of monitors in this period with most brands in Meko’s sales survey reporting that sales were over budget”.
The Mediterranean area showed the biggest rise compared to predictions, and the whole sector was helped by continued strong growth in Germany.
Overall, the volume of monitors sold in 2010 was 2% higher than in the previous year but declining average selling prices for the majority of the year meant that the total value of the market shrank by 7%.
According to Azhar Mohd-Hashim, “2010 was a difficult year for monitor sales in Europe, with quarter three showing particularly disappointing figures. It appears that volume increases towards the end of the year have been at the expense of prices, which are considerably lower than last year. However, on a more positive note, there was increased penetration of LED-backlit units towards the end of the year, adding another reason for consumers to upgrade their monitors. We believe that this trend will continue at a rapid pace into 2011”.
