3% Drop in 2020 Flat-Panel TV Shipments Hastens Price Cuts, Says ABI

COVID-19 uncertainties caused a “sharp decline” in global flat-panel TV shipments in Q1, reported ABI Research Wednesday. It forecasts 222 million unit shipments in 2020, down 3% from 2019. Stay-at-home orders and the pandemic's “economic upheaval” are bringing lower consumer spending on more discretionary consumer tech gear, it said. Conditions are likely to speed a decline in TV prices, said analyst Khin Sandi Lynn. Video streaming services’ popularity during lockdown caused a 4 million unit bump in streaming media adapter shipments year on year, said the analyst. Streaming media device and service growth is expected to continue beyond the pandemic. ABI expects the global flat-panel TV market to rebound in 2021, growing at a 4.3 compound annual growth rate to 275 million units in 2025.