Even as the total sales volume of flat panel TV continues to slow down in key Asian markets, consumer demand for Ultra HD models has spiked ‘exponentially’ in the past year, says research firm GfK.
The company’s point of sales tracking in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, found that the 11.8 million TV sets sold in April 2014 to March 2015 represented a 2.9% drop compared with the same period a year ago. Moreover, sales of the higher value Ultra HD models managed to drive up dollar value generated by the entire TV market by the same percentage.
The countries also reported surges in sales value of their respective Ultra HD TV markets in the range of 20-77%, with Singapore (77%), Indonesia (67%) and Vietnam (47%) registering the fastest growth. By contrast, in unit terms, sales volumes climbed year-on-year in the range of 9-37%, led by Singapore and Indonesia (37%), followed by Vietnam (23%). The segment contributed nearly 8% of the region’s TV sales dollars, accounting for $354 million, a 280% rise compared with a year earlier. GfK found penetration is highest in the most developed market of Singapore, where more than one in every ten (13%) sets sold is of this technology.
Read more: Rapid TV News