Menlo Park, California (PRWEB) November 14, 2005
In the October edition of their monthly Consumer Advertising Analysis, Pacific Media Associates (PMA) reports significant advertised price drops for LCD TVs, especially in the larger sizes. But plasma and rear-projection display prices held fairly steady since September.
LCD TV models are now being advertised at the same price points as plasma in the 42 size, and both technologies have decreased the price gap with rear-projection models of similar size, according to PMA Vice President Rosemary Abowd. The aggressive pricing in all three segments may make it difficult for retailers to cut prices further as we lead up to Black Friday and head into the holiday buying season.
The biggest advertised price movements were in the larger LCD sizes in October. In the 40-42 category, advertised prices continued to challenge 42 HD PDP technology. Olevia’s 42 model appeared at J&R for $ 2,299, and Best Buy offered 40 JVC LCD TVs for $ 2,999, down $ 500 from September. Prices for Sharp LCD TVs declined across-the-board with 26 models offered at $ 1,199 (Circuit City, CompUSA); 32 models falling several hundred dollars to around $ 1,500 at several retailers; and 37 models priced at $ 1,999 (6th Avenue Electronics) which is $ 800 lower than September advertised prices. The 26-27 LCD models from Maxent ($ 688 at 6th Avenue Electronics), ViewSonic ($ 750 at CompUSA), Westinghouse ($ 800 at Best Buy & The Great Indoors) and Syntax ($ 800 at CompUSA) mirrored September’s prices and remain several hundred dollars below similar-sized top-brand models.
Plasma showed little movement in advertised pricing, although product features are clearly shifting to more HD and larger sizes. Many more HD-Ready and Fully HD 42-43 models were featured in October than in past months. The Dell 42 HD PDP model, advertised at $ 2,499, carried one of the lowest advertised prices in the category. Sears advertised a Philips 42 HD PDP for $ 1,999 on the final October weekend, while Best Buy continues to advertise the Maxent 42 HD PDP at the same price. EDTV prices continue to hover around $ 1,800 for name brands and $ 1,500 for lower-tier brands, the same as in September. In the 50 category, Dell’s introduction of a 50 HD PDP at $ 3,799 late in the month may push prices lower in November, but for October most models hovered between $ 3,500 and $ 3,999.
Advertised prices for rear-projection displays remained steady, particularly for the smallest screen sizes which stayed around $ 1,999. The main exception was the 44 Fully HD Panasonic 3LCD model that dropped $ 500 to $ 1,488 later in October at 6th Avenue Electronics. 6th Avenue Electronics also had the lowest advertised price for a CRT-based RPTV, selling the Hitachi 51M200 for $ 883. There was also lots of activity in the 50-53 space with prices falling $ 200-$ 300 on LGE DLP model 52SX4D ($ 2297.97 at Video and Audio Center), Panasonic 3LCD Fully HD PT-52LCX65 ($ 1,798 at 6th Avenue Electronics), and the JVC D-ILA Fully HD HD-52G786 ($ 2,499 at Best Buy). It is interesting to note that the Sony SXRD Fully HD KDS-R60XBR1 was advertised during the same week for $ 3,999 at Circuit City, $ 4,699 at Best Buy, and $ 4,999 at Magnolia and 6th Avenue Electronics.
The advertised prices in PMAs monthly Consumer Advertising Analysis reflect the final price after manufacturer and retailer rebates. The advertised price does not reflect gift cards with purchase to be used in the future or other offers and promotions. Data is gathered from retailer or manufacturer advertising in flyers, inserts, run-of-press ads, direct mail, broadcast offers, and store visits. Local newspapers are surveyed in the New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco metropolitan areas.
Note that these advertised prices only reflect promotional activity, but still are a useful indicator of where things are headed. They are not the same as the true average prices for an individual model or for a category. A low price from a second- or third-tier brand may not be at all representative of the vast majority of units sold. Getting representative prices requires much more research, and PMA’s family of subscription-based Tracking Services continue to set the platinum standard in channel sell-through (units-weighted) street price averages experienced by retailers and resellers.
About Pacific Media Associates
Pacific Media Associates (PMA) is the most experienced source of display market data, covering all large-screen display categories: front projectors, plasma TVs, LCD TVs, and rear-projection displays. Their Large-Screen Displays Industry Service family of publications provides detailed worldwide quarterly updates (sell-in data) on large-screen display markets, newsletters on new product announcements and other key industry developments, and annual Web surveys of North American resellers/retailers and end users (including both organizations and individual consumers). Their Large-Screen Displays Tracking Service family of monthly reports offers timely sell-through data on unit sales, street prices, and inventories of large-screen displays sold by leading North American retailers, resellers, and distributors. PMA was established by Dr. William Coggshall, who was previously a co-founder of Dataquest and helped start the syndicated market research industry. PMA is headquartered at 1060 Siskiyou Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Tel. +1 650-561-9020. Fax +1 650-561-9019. http://www.pacificmediaassociates.com
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