There’s a lot of speculation about what the new Trump presidency will mean for consumer electronics. That’s TVs, smartphones, computers, laptops, and monitors, all the good things that make the display industry run. Ross Young has a pretty in-depth analysis on how trump tariffs will reshape the US electronics industry, and there is an interesting perspective on the impact on TV streamers from Jakob Roettgers.
I am not as smart as those guys or even that interested in learning about the ins and out of international trade. I don’t need to be because I was alive when the Trump tariffs first reared their ugly head in the first Trump administration. I remember the price of my electronics going up. I remember how much more expensive a washing machine and dryer became. And I also remember that not a single person started to build more TVs, or smartphones, or laptops in the US as a result.
So, maybe there will be a surge in demand for all those goods, and a surge in demand for display panels to go with it, as retailers and distributors stock up before tariffs hit, but we are talking about a very short lead time here to the new Trump administration. The last Trump administration was hampered by a obstructions even within Trump’s own party, but this time around, the new Trump administration can hit the ground running, and hit it hard.
Everything we have come to fear about the impact of tariffs may come at us a lot faster than we expect. It doesn’t look good for consumers, and that’s all that should be considered. Even small rises in prices, or drops in supply, will choke sell-through. Right now, without the threat of tariffs, we see how sensitive the consumer market has become, and how much belt-tightening is going on. It doesn’t matter how many Chinese TVs come out of Vietnam to avoid higher tariffs on China, the consumer is the only gauge of what 2025 brings, and nothing indicates the consumer is in for an easy ride.
I know one thing, my family is going to be keen on Walmart and Amazon branded TVs. If anyone stands to gain from all this uncertainty it is these two monster retailers. They can absorb a lot of the margin and pricing pains in order to get more market share, and establish their own branded TVs. What other TV, smartphone, or computer brand can say that?
