Thinking of getting that new flat screen TV, but are undecided about when to do it? Believe it or not, even with the chaos that dominates the financial markets because the credit crisis of 2008-2009, I believe that the best time to do it is right in the middle of it. With the effects of global credit crisis spilling into many aspects of life as we know, the demand for televisions (among other things) is expected to go through a major recession in 2009. Why then is a good time to buy new TV? Because of the fall in demand will push the manufacturers and distributors to bring down the price. This has really been going on for some time, with many stores go on sale. Online stores like Amazon have this sub-$ 600 large screen TVs for some time. It would not imagine that a few years ago when $ 2000 LCD TVs were a very common sight in appliance stores.
If you have been saving up or have cash on hand for new acquisition then I suggest you head on over to a store and pick up shiny new LCD or Plasma. Or, you could wait it out a bit more and see if the shops provide additional discount. This, I believe it is highly likely given the forecasts of market research firm DisplaySearch.
While sales for the year (2008) were about 3% higher, to 206 million units, compared to 2 years ago (2007), this probably will not be the case for 2009. DisplaySearch foresees a huge drop of 18% across the board (all types of TV) in revenue and a reduction of 1% in unit sales worldwide. The LCD TV segment will be hardest hit as it is being provided a 16% drop in revenue, down to $ 88 billion, despite a projected increase of 17% in shipments. Manufacturers are only sacrificing profits and focusing to secure more market share, reducing selling prices. This is bad news for retailers and resellers that will definitely take a beating due to thinning profit margins, but is a bit of good news for consumers looking to take advantage of discounts.
These are the good old market "Labor force its magic and its chaos. If you already have the money for the planned purchase, go for it! This is the best time to spend. Doing so may even help stimulate the economy, which is always a good thing.
The author, a couch potato and a blogger, runs two consumer-related blogs about the television. One is an all-around television blog while the other is a Plasma and LCD TV Repair site.
Geek Brief TV #151
