Summary
Whether this is a one-time phenomenon or an indicator of continued consumer optimism remains to be seen. Consumers are willing to spend savings – albeit carefully – to provide in-home entertainment. Prices of true HDTV sets have now fallen to the point where a critical mass of consumers will no longer be satisfied with non-HD performance.
Analysis
Early results indicate that while clothing was the biggest mover on Black Friday, 39 percent of shoppers bought DVDs, CDs, video games and books, while nearly 36 percent purchased CE products, according to a poll by the National Retail Federation.
The time-honored push for deep discounts did not disappoint the market, notwithstanding the deadly aftermath of the Long Island, NY Walmart incident.
Among some of the one-day-only HDTV deals posted on retailer ad circulars:
· Samsung 50" 720p plasma $798, at Walmart
· Samsung 42” 720p plasma $699.99, at kmart and BestBuy
· Sony 37” 720p LCD $837, at hhgregg
And the following deals can be had for periods ranging from 3 days to 1 month, or possibly longer:
· Sharp 52” 1080p LCD $799.99, at Costco
· Panasonic 50” 720p plasma $899.99, at BestBuy
· Philips 42” 1080p LCD $798.00, at Sam’s Club
· Vizio 42” 1080p LCD $797, at Walmart
· Vizio 42” 720p plasma $699.99, at Sears
· Toshiba 40" 1080p LCD $799.99, at Circuit City
· Samsung 37” 720p LCD $799.99, at Radio Shack
· Olevia 37” 720p LCD $598, at Target
Another heavily-discussed Black Friday deal was Wal-Mart's Magnavox MB500MG9 Blu-ray player, which went for $128, down from $198.
Descriptions seem to be accurate, for the most part, but some exaggerations persist, such as referring to a 1024x768 set as “720p,” and advertising 480Hz processing when it’s not true. Perhaps these are true misprints, however, given the volume of buying information that must be relayed in short order.
Needless to say, many people will take home an “HDTV” set, and won’t know the difference if it’s not, given still-common misperceptions. Another interesting trend is that the discounted prices for 1080p LCD vs. 720p plasma are approaching parity. Also, while the deepest discounts are limited to Black Friday, a growing number of retailers are willing to extend moderate discounts all the way to year’s end. It appears that, at the very least, the last thing they want is uncleared inventory.
Whether this is a one-time phenomenon or an indicator of consumer optimism remains to be seen. Consumers are willing to spend savings – albeit carefully – to provide in-home entertainment.
Prices of true HDTV sets have now fallen to the point where a critical mass of consumers will no longer be satisfied with non-HD performance, especially as a way to remain “competitive” with neighbors. A further statistic to watch will be the proportion of non-HD (or even 4:3) sets sold in the holiday season, or even thereafter.
