HDTVs More Expensive Now Than Over the Last 2 Years

The average U.S. retail price of a flat panel TV was $1,224 in the second quarter of the year, up from $1,190 in Q1 and up from $1,124 in Q2 of last year.

“The climb in U.S. flat-panel TV prices is attributed to market gains in retail among new sets sporting advanced technologies, such as 3-D, integrated interactivity and light-emitting diode (LED) backlight technology used in LCD TV sets,” said Edward Border, analyst for TV technology at IHS. “Consumers also are buying a larger portion of sets with Web 2.0 features characteristic of Smart TVs. Moreover, some large-sized television models in both the LCD and plasma categories increased their share, contributing to overall growth in pricing.”

30.9 percent of TVs currently available at retail are now 3D sets, up from 27.8 percent in Q1. Smart TVs are up from 40.9 percent to 44.3 percent. LED TVs now have a share of 63.5 percent, up from 59.2 percent, IHS said.

The most popular size for LCD TVs is 46 inches, which now has a 12.2 percent share. For plasma TVs, the size with the greatest share is 50 inch (23.8 percent). Interestingly, below-42-inch screen sizes saw their retail prices increase on average, while the generally popular 32-inch models dropped to new lows. The average 32-inch TV sold for $435 in Q2, down from $495 in Q1. 42-inch models are currently priced at about $761.

Smart TVs saw significant price increases. Average pricing in June fell to $1,907 from $2,015 in May, but it was up significantly compared to $1,724 in June last year.