Post-holidays are often not a brisk period for sales of consumer electronics products, but one analyst says movement of LCD TV units went against the otherwise negative trend in April, posting strong sales in what is seen as an accelerating mass-appeal pull toward HD.
According to the NPD Group, a marketing research firm in Port Washington, N.Y., LCD revenue (excluding computer monitors) increased by about 80 percent to more than $400 million in April, compared to the same month a year ago. Meanwhile, overall CE retail revenue dropped 6 percent in the same time frame, while TV revenue was down 3 percent with every category decreasing--except LCD TVs--according to Electronics Supply & Manufacturing.
Yet a decline in revenue often does not necessarily provide the true picture of actual sales, per se. For example, while plasma TV revenue was down nearly 20 percent from April 2006 to April 2007, plasma unit sales grew nearly 20 percent in the same period. A sizeable one-third dip in the average selling price from year-to-year led to the decline in plasma revenues.
NPD Group said the best-selling LCD screen in April 2007 was the 32-inch. Also, the average selling price for all-size LCD units dipped below $1,000 in April for the first time.
