Western consumers’ lockdowns fuel global TV market growth
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 16 December 2020
Analysis by Futuresource Consulting has found that by and large the global TV market has not suffered the harshest effects of the Covid-19 outbreak and is instead on track to achieve 1.2% growth in 2020 and end the year on more than 233 million shipments.
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The study found that TV trade value has fared relatively well, and is forecast to decline by just 1% to $83.7 billion. Driving the growth has been the finding that disposable income has remained high in most Western markets despite the challenges and the disruption that 2020 has delivered.

Looking to the regions, North America has outperformed all others, in TV uptake with Futuresource forecasting overall unit growth of 15% this year. Consumers in Western Europe have also responded by investing in TVs, both upgrading existing sets and buying additional smaller screens to satisfy competing demands for screen time in family households. Financial support from governments in both regions has helped to cushion any immediate economic impact and has paved the way for spending on home-based activities. Eastern Europe is also witnessing dramatic growth, driven predominantly by Russia. META is also expected to grow in 2020, with consumers particularly in Gulf states switching spend to home entertainment.

Technologically, 4K, smart TV and OLED technologies were all growing their share of the TV market with smart TV leading the way in shipment terms. The analyst calculated that nearly three-quarters of sets sold in 2020 will be smart, with the global installed base breaking the billion-unit barrier for the first time. 4K has been central to larger screen adoption, accounting for nearly two-thirds of units this year and growing to 76% by 2024. OLED was also making inroads, though its growth rate has slowed, due to consumers opting for premium LCD panels.

“In a year defined by lockdowns and social distancing measures, we’ve seen consumers divert their disposable income away from outdoor activities and travel to focus instead on the home environment,” noted Futuresource Consulting research analyst Juan Villegas Leyba. “With the continued rise of streaming services and a raft of high-profile service launches, people have turned to TV sets for information and entertainment. In line with this shift, consumers have been prepared to spend money accordingly.”

Yet Futuresource warned that beyond these aforementioned territories, the outcome has been less positive. While consumers in Japan and Australia have responded to the crisis by spending more on home entertainment, the wider picture found in the Asia Pacific region was one of decline, with India set to face the deepest decline of all. Latin America was facing political and economic instability before Covid-19 took hold, adding to the region’s challenges.

That said going forward overall, Futuresource was generally more optimistic and predicted that as vaccination programmes got underway, the pandemic will have much less of a global impact in 2021. But as the Covid-driven consequences continue to play out for some time, consumers would appreciate that home entertainment was good value and so Futuresource expected TV to remain a high priority, forecasting a global CAGR of 0.5% growth in TV shipments out to 2024.