television ‘A home-cinema like experience,
straight out of the box’ With the overall TV market reasonably stable in volume terms, improving TV tech is attempting to drive the replacement cycle in the face of rising average prices
A
major staple of the consumer electronics market, television retains an important footprint
in many electrical retailers’ stores. With average screen sizes continuing to grow, and manufacturers heavily marketing the latest technologies to consumers, what can retailers do to take advantage? Consumer demand for larger and higher
quality screens in the home does not appear to be diminishing. LG Electronics (LG) conducted research that revealed that many consumers are choosing to watch the latest big screen blockbusters in the comfort of their homes, rather than at the cinema. The study unveiled that on average we
watch 48 films on our TVs a year, compared to four to five cinema visits. The rationale for staying home to watch the latest blockbusters is perhaps more mundane, in that consumers enjoy the freedom to watch, pause and rewind when they want (61% of respondents in LG’s research highlighted this), meaning they don’t miss a key moment if they nip to the bathroom or prepare a snack.
New technology such as 4K,
Android and HDR has helped add value in this sector by offering consumers exciting new AV experiences
Other responses included being able
to eat dinner or snacks whilst watching, greater comfort and freedom to watch whenever suits the consumer best. While the emphasis from consumers may be on the surrounding experience, manufacturers are understandably keen to highlight the improving visual and audio experience of watching feature films on a home TV. Consumers are increasingly aware of the benefits of the latest technology, with LG also polling consumers on the impact of tech on
April 2017
their home entertainment experience. The manufacturer noted that Brits identified a top-of-the-range TV as the most important piece of tech for the ultimate film viewing experience (39%), followed by a surround sound speaker system (26%) and content streaming services (16%). Consumers are also evidently more willing
to trust their home TV and AV setup to see blockbusters for the first time, with a third of Brits having opted to watch Harry Potter (32%), Lord of the Rings (23%) and Star Wars (21%) for the first time from their lounge. LG UK head of product marketing and
partnerships Darren Petersen commented: “Many of us (38%) are watching three to four hours of TV per day and there is an evident growing trend towards consuming movies in the comfort of our homes. LG is dedicated to developing the very best home entertainment technology to ensure big Hollywood blockbusters are being viewed as the director intended – in superior picture quality so we don’t miss any detail.”
‘Available UHD content continues to increase’ With home demand evidently continuing, manufacturers are keen to highlight ongoing improvements in picture quality, design and content for viewing on the latest TVs. “Sony is a leading TV brand in the UK and sales continue to grow,” says Sony UK & Ireland TV marketing manager Matt Laird. “The TV market performed exceptionally well for 2016 and Sony continued to drive sales throughout the year with several award winning products launched. The KD-65ZD9 launched in the summer of 2016 to a great response and helped to add value to the 4K HDR market. “With our recent announcement of the
new OLED BRAVIA A1 and X series LCD, we are looking forward to consumers’ reactions once they go in store.” With Sony entering the OLED big screen
TV market for the first time, and Panasonic having unveiled its latest OLED offering at the turn of the year, the panel technology
Sony’s debut OLED large screen TV, the BRAVIA A1 series, includes Acoustic Surface technology, which places actuators behind the display to vibrate the screen and create sound
will be increasingly highlighted in a range of manufacturers’ advertising campaigns and will serve as an area of stiff competition, with Samsung also promoting its competing QLED technology. OLED has already seen growth in the market as shifts towards premium propositions continue, according to LG. LG UK home entertainment senior product manager Rob Taylor comments: “OLED televisions are doing particularly well and accounted for twice as much market value in 2016 than in 2015. In addition, the market is moving towards an increase in UHD products. In value terms, in 2014 UHD products only accounted for 12% of the overall market. In 2015 this increased to 38% and in 2016 further improved to 58%.” Ultra High Definition (UHD) is increasingly
ubiquitous in the marketplace, and messaging from content providers is also reaching consumers and generating demand. “A key trend in the market that is set to continue is the increasing amount of content being made available in UHD,” Rob explains. “LG’s UHD TVs support HDMI 2.0a, which means that they are compatible with services such as Sky Q and BT Sport that offer UHD content. Meanwhile, other entertainment providers such as Amazon and Netflix will continue to create more UHD content as the technology becomes more popular.”
www.innovativeelectricalretailing.co.uk | 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
