New features and declining prices are two of the factors driving consumers into the market for a new television set. According to a new study, the replacement cycle has decreased by more than a year in the last 12 months.
According to the NPD DisplaySearch Global TV Replacement Study, consumers had been hanging on to and using television sets for an average of 8.4 years, but over the course of the last year, that interval has shrunk all the way down to 6.9 years.
Lower prices, the desire for a bigger screen and the addition of new features to the sets are the primary drivers for the change. The upshot is that 31% of consumers surveyed across 14 global markets are planning to replace an existing television set over the course of the next year, and 22% are going to add a new television set to their collection.
“The rate of TV replacement varies, but on a global basis, the majority of households are still replacing CRT TVs with flat panel TVs. We are also observing mature markets, such as the US, the UK, and others, replacing their first-generation flat panel TVs,” noted Riddhi Patel, NPD DisplaySearch Research Director, Consumer Insights. “Overall, LCD TVs in the range of 32-44″ are the most popular for planned purchases.”
Size is said to be the biggest reason to upgrade. The combination of that consumer motivation and the need to accommodate the trend toward lower pricing is said to be squeezing profit margins. That in turn is leading manufacturers to focus on add-ons like 3D and internet connectivity – which unfortunately faces the headwind of occupying a lower position on the consumer wish list.
You don’t suppose that the decline in quality of the sets had anything to do with it? I had a Curtis Mathis TV last me 25 years. Then, I bought an RCA and that lasted 16 years. I’ve had a Samsung DLP HD TV for 4 years and have already had the repair man out here once….
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