What They Say
NPD released data on the US TV market and said that the average size of installed TVs in U.S. households has increased three inches (7.6cm) to 47.5″ (120.7cm) based on the February 2022 retail tracking service and the quarterly device tracking survey. 44% of survey respondents said they bought a new TV because they wanted a larger screen – an increase of 7% from the February 2020 survey. Another 38% purchased for better picture quality – up 5%. The number of respondents buying because of pricing was unchanged from February 2020 survey at 23%.
NPD said that the rate of TV replacement has accelerated. In February 2020, the average age of a replaced TV was 6.8 years, by February 2022 that dropped to 6.4 years. The replacement TVs being purchased are bigger and have higher picture quality than pre-pandemic as well. In February 2022, the average replacement TV was 53.6-inches, up from 49.4-inches in 2020, and nearly three-quarters (72%) of replacement TV purchases were 4K UHD, up from 62% in 2020.
NPD quoted that sales of premium TV units (priced at $1,000 or above) are now 9% of sales in the US and 65″ and above sets are expected to rise from less than 25% of the market in 2020, to more than 33% by 2024.
What We Think
It’s interesting that although Stephen Baker of NPD has been saying that the premium segment of TVs in the US starts at $700, the firm is still using $1,000 as the threshold in its reports. Still, it’s good to see US consumers being driven by quality as well as size. Historically, the US was often driven almost just by size and price (although the usual caveats about the difference between survey comments and actual behaviour). (BR)
