Plenty of Room in 4K TV Replacement Cycle for Large Screen Sizes, Says NPD

Boosting screen size and picture quality are leading drivers behind TV upgrades, NPD reported Monday. Of U.S. consumers who bought a replacement set March 2017 to February 2018, 45 percent said larger screen size was the driver, 39 percent were motivated by improved picture quality and 24 percent said they were moved by affordable pricing. Sales of TVs 55 inches and larger grew 8 percent, to a third of unit sales volume. Some 62 percent of upgrade TV buys were for the living room, with average replacement TV size for the living room 52 inches vs. 43 inches in other household rooms. There's “tremendous opportunity” to accelerate the replacement cycle, with 90 percent of the installed base of TVs in the U.S. not yet 4K Ultra HD, said analyst Stephen Baker. “Screen size and picture quality are driving consumer purchase decisions, instead of price, which seems to indicate that the industry has been slow to address the shifting value proposition of the TV in the home.” Despite “splintering” of content among devices, demand for TVs to occupy a “prominent position" in the home isn't diminishing, he said. Findings were based on a Jan. 25-Feb. 8 survey of 5,300 U.S. adult consumers.