PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Unit sales of large-format displays (LFDs) in West Europe (WE) continued to grow in Q1 2019 by almost 14% year-on-year, reveals a new report from Context.
The sales boost has been driven by all sub-segments, including videowalls and high-brightness displays, according to the data.
Sales of high-resolution LFDs more than doubled in the first three months of 2019, managing to offset the continuing decline in sales of full HD (FHD) displays (-11% in this quarter) sufficiently to lead to an overall 14% year-on-year volume increase in WE.
“While FHD remains the dominant resolution, a constant demand for the best picture quality, to enhance customer experience both indoors and outdoors, makes higher resolution displays much more attractive,” said Dominika Koncewicz , Senior Market Analyst for Displays at CONTEXT.
“Moreover, prices for ultra-high definition (UHD) displays are falling, helping to spur sales: in Q1 2019 the average selling price (ASP) of 4K/UHD non-touch displays in distribution was 1500 euro, almost 30% less than a year ago, and the ASPs of the most popular screen sizes, such as 55 inch and 65 inch, are already below 1200 euro.”
The other type of LFDs seeing growing sales, are those with high brightness. Previously, most LFDs sold by WE distributors had a brightness of less than 500 nits, but sales of these grew only 7% year-on-year in Q1 2019 while sales of LFDs with brightness of 1000 nits grew by over 75%. Revenues generated by these models were also up, by over 25% year-on-year, while those from displays with lower brightness declined by 4%. In the last couple of quarters, significant growth in sales of high brightness displays has been seen particularly for LG.
For the second quarter in a row WE distribution has seen growing sales, generating revenues that are 4% higher than in the same period last year. A range of sizes, resolutions and technologies gives videowall solutions the flexibility to provide the highest levels of customer engagement, and help ensure the message is impactful and memorable. Customers are happy with 55-inch screens, and this remains the most popular size; however, there is increasing interest in smaller and cheaper 49-inch screens.
“The rise of high-resolution and high-brightness displays described above demonstrates a growing interest in outdoor solutions for a range of purposes, such as smart cities,” added Dominika. “And, nowadays, these cannot be driven only by consumer experience – they need to evolve in line with technical, physical and environmental changes. We should therefore expect to see smarter and greener digital signage solutions in the coming years.“
—
Entries for PCR 30 Under 30 are now open. Nominate yourself or a colleague now!
—
Like this content? Sign up for the free PCR Daily Digest email service to get the latest tech news straight to your inbox. You can also follow PCR on Twitter and Facebook.
