Spending on UltraHD TV (4K) is up by over 700% compared to previous period, according to GfK.
The total sales volume of flat panel TV continues to slow down in six key Southeast Asia markets but consumer demand for ultra-high definition (UHD) models have spiked exponentially in the past year to help fuel the strong growth of this segment as well as the overall value growth of the TV market.
According to GfK’s point of sales tracking in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, the 11.8 million TV sets sold in April 2014 to March 2015 is a 2.95 drop compared with the same period a year ago. However, the robust sales of the higher value UHD models managed to drive up dollar value generated by the entire TV market by 2.9%.
“With the near completion of switchover trend in developing Southeast Asian countries, consumers are now focusing on upgrading to the latest screen technology,” said Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital World in GfK.
“Manufacturers and retailers have been aggressively launching attractive promotions to stimulate take up rates.”
The six individual countries reported surges in sales value of their respective UHD TV markets in the range of 20 to 77%, with Singapore (77%), Indonesia (67%) and Vietnam (47%) registering the fastest growth. In unit terms, sales volume from a year ago climbed in the range of 9 to 37% —led by Singapore and Indonesia (37%), followed by Vietnam (23%).
According to GfK findings, the UHD segment contributed nearly eight percent of the region’s TV sales dollars; accounting for USD354 million—an increment of 280 percent over the same period the year before. Penetration is highest in the most developed market of Singapore, where more than one in every ten (13%) sets sold is of this technology.
The rising share of UHD in the TV market has also resulted in falling average price to drop around 61percent for this segment, from $5,500 to $2,160.
Meanwhile, the most commonly purchased screen size for this segment is 41”-50”, making up 35% in share of the UHD sales volume. Variations exist in the countries in terms of take up of screen sizes. For instance, the most popular UHD screen size in Singapore was 41”-50” inch, while consumers in Vietnam and Thailand are buying more of 51”-55”. In the last 12 months, 55” and below UHD TVs represented around 60% of the total market value.
“TV technology is constantly evolving, and with each new launch, we see the progression of consumers moving from small to big screens, with affordability increasing over time,” commented Tan.
“Moving forward into the rest of 2015, we can expect to see rising excitement in the UHD TV market as manufacturers battle for the consumer dollar with more offerings at more attractive prices; and at the end of the day, consumer s are the ones who get to enjoy the good deals resulting from the fierce competition,” he concluded