TV prices rise 27% amid growing demand for larger screens, premium features

Increasing demand for larger screen sizes, coupled with the influx of premium features such as Dolby support, have increased the average selling price (ASP) of televisions in India. Talking to Mint, Anshika Jain, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, said that while the ASP of TVs in India was around Rs 26,000 in Q1 last year, the same saw a 27% year-on-year (YoY) increase to be around Rs 33,000 in the first three months of 2022.

Jain further added that the ASP of ‘premium’ televisions, priced above Rs 30,000, also saw a 10.7% YoY increase in Q1 2022 – up from around Rs 56,000 a year ago to Rs 62,000 this year.

On Thursday, a Counterpoint report on India’s TV market said that nine out of every 10 televisions sold in India were smart TVs in the first quarter of 2022, with the share of connected TVs growing by 33% in the first three months of this year. The report added that premium TVs saw a 68.6% year-on-year (YoY) growth in shipments in Q1 2022.

Akash Jatwala, research analyst at Counterpoint, explained that larger screen sizes, more OLED and QLED TVs in the market, and the inclusion of ‘premium’ features such as support for Dolby Vision and Atmos contributed to the growth of premium televisions in India. While roughly one out of every four TVs sold in India cost above Rs 30,000 in Q1 last year, this year, the number grew to one in every three.

Jain further added that TVs sized between 43-inch and 54-inch make for “almost one-third of the total smart TV shipments in India.”

To be sure, the uptick in demand for larger screens in India has been happening for a while. In April this year, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) making projectors for home and enterprise segments in India told Mint that sales of home projectors in the country grew by as much as 150% YoY – buoyed by consumers spending more time at home in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic.

Rajeev Singh, managing director of BenQ India, told Mint in April that demand for “immersive experiences” and large screens boosted the sector of home projectors – which has largely remained a small mover in India.”Projectors became the first choice as one could easily go for a 100-150-inch screen at a far affordable price compared to TVs of the same size,” Singh added.

Counterpoint’s report also added that offline retail channels still dominate TV sales in India, with seven out of every 10 TVs sold in India being through offline stores. However, the share of TVs sold through online stores have been growing, and increased 30% YoY in Q1 2022.