“Defying some pundits’ expectations, U.S. retailers this year were able to offer their customary Black Friday promotional deals for LCD-TVs, which represent a critical factor in driving annual sales growth,” said Tina Tseng, analyst for iSuppli.
In large part due to the deals offered on and before Black Friday, the fourth quarter is typically the strongest period of the year for the US LCD-TV market. An estimated 28.7 percent of 2009 LCD-TV shipments in the United States and Canada are projected to occur in the fourth quarter. iSuppli predicts LCD-TV shipments in the United States and Canada will rise by 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.
US LCD-TV sales are preliminarily estimated to have risen by only a low-single percentage point on Black Friday 2009 compared to 2008. However, many retailers offered special Black Friday deals starting on Thanksgiving Day or throughout the seven-day period from Nov. 21 to Nov. 27.
For these seven days, LCD-TV sales are expected to have risen by as much as 6 percent compared to a year earlier, according to a preliminary estimate from iSuppli.
Sizable deals
The most common set offered via Black Friday promotions this year was the 32-inch High-Definition (HD) LCD-TV. Average US Black Friday promotional pricing for 32-inch LCD-TVs declined to $369, down 24.7 percent from $490 before the event. The lowest Black Friday price iSuppli noted for this screen size was less than the cheapest smaller-sized 26-inch LCD TVs.
The biggest average price reduction was for 19-inch LCD-TVs, at 36.8 percent, followed by 26-inch sets at 34.9 percent.
Average US Black Friday promotional pricing for 40-inch LCD-TVs declined to $577, down 23.3 percent from $752 before the event.
Pricing reductions for larger LCD-TVs were more modest, with 42-inch sets experiencing a 7.3 percent decline and 46-inch sets dipping by 7.2 percent.
“In the 40-inch and larger screen sizes, better-featured models were offered for Black Friday deals,” Tseng said. “The majority of Black Friday promotions were for Full-HD, i.e., 1080p-resolution (progressive-scan) models. Models with 120-Hz refresh rates also were found in the 42-, 46- and 55-inch screen sizes.”
The figure presents iSuppli’s estimate of average pricing for specific LCD-TV sizes before and during Black Friday.
Source: iSuppli, USAPremium deals
“Premium LCD-TV brands, such as Samsung, LG and Sony, led the way in offering aggressive pricing deals on Black Friday,” Tseng said. “Because these companies sell their sets at higher price points than the value brands do, they are able to make steeper cuts during Black Friday. This translates to greater dollar savings for consumers, making the deals attractive.”
In an attempt to further boost sales, Sony offered LCD-TV sets bundled with other products as special Black Friday deals.
“Sony was very aggressive with bundled deals,” said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, television systems, for iSuppli “They bundled LCD-TVs with items such as PlayStation 3 video game consoles and Blu-ray players. Other brands offered bundles that included wall mounts and audio bars.”
Some retailers also offered special online deals that include free shipping and no taxes.
Glass supply clears up
Some experts had warned that brands might be unable to offer their typical Black Friday pricing deals in 2009 due to a mid-year shortage of glass used to manufacture LCD panels.
However, the shortage was resolved well before the brands commenced buying components for making sets for Black Friday, and thus did not impact LCD-TV panel availability and pricing.
Source: iSuppli, USA
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