# What Recession? TV Sales Soar



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Here's what anyone paying attention could have predicted, from TV Week:


> North American television shipments in the second quarter jumped 28% from a year earlier, marking the largest leap in at least four years and defying the U.S. economic downturn, NPD Group unit DisplaySearch said today....
> 
> TV manufacturers shipped 9.3 million sets during the quarter as shipments of liquid-crystal display televisions, which accounted for 80% of all TVs sent, surged 52%, according to the report. The jump, the largest year-over-year increase since DisplaySearch started tracking shipments in 2004, was also fed by a 34% rise in plasma-TV shipments.
> 
> ...U.S. consumers are buying more TVs amid the economic downturn as they prepare for the switchover to all-digital broadcasts from analog next February.


And virtually all those TV sets will be HD capable. By 2011, the vast majority of American homes may not be able to afford heat, but they'll have HD. Because I'm a Dish customer and my wife won't let me cut down any trees to see DirecTV satellites, I hope there's going to be alot of TurboHD customers. But both satellite companies are well ahead of cable in providing decent HD when you take the nation as a whole.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

And I'm sure most of those people are putting it on their already over charged credit cards.


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## GaryPotter (Apr 12, 2008)

I'm not surprised at all. Everyone with ancient TVs would probably just rather get a new one rather than use a set-top box.


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## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

Nobody can afford the gas so, instead of going somewhere on vacation, they're buying HD tv's and watching the Travel Channel in HD! :lol:


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## lee635 (Apr 17, 2002)

And you don't have to "fill up" a new tv. :lol:

You are probably more on target than you realize. I remember an economics prof talking about inversion behavior among consumers during times of instability.

I think all the digital conversion advertisements are getting folks off their duffs too.



dbconsultant said:


> Nobody can afford the gas so, instead of going somewhere on vacation, they're buying HD tv's and watching the Travel Channel in HD! :lol:


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/10/24/sony-and-samsung-gloomy-earnings-forecasts-hits-asian-economy/

Sony and Samsung earnings tank on poor outlook for consumer electronics. However, Samsung is theoretically best poised for recovery, not necessarily on the back of TV sales, but memory chips, mobile handsets etc.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Chandu said:


> http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/10/24/sony-and-samsung-gloomy-earnings-forecasts-hits-asian-economy/
> 
> Sony and Samsung earnings tank on poor outlook for consumer electronics. However, Samsung is theoretically best poised for recovery, not necessarily on the back of TV sales, but memory chips, mobile handsets etc.


Funny how two months can change the outlook. But I still see a spike in TV sales in January and February.


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## HIPAR (May 15, 2005)

Was that based upon data from before the economic calamity?

The economy was actually doing reasonably well before the excesses of the last 15 years caused its collapse. Like anything else built upon a weak foundation, everything looks just fine before a monumental collapse. 

Let's wait for the 'Black Friday' sales results.

--- CHAS


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

Heck, with the volatility of the stock market each day, a big screen TV seems like a better investment than buying stock. At least you know you'll still have the TV tomorrow. Black Friday should be 'happening' day for flat screen TV sales.. due to the regular sales frenzy and the digital switch coming in a few months.


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

HIPAR said:


> Let's wait for the 'Black Friday' sales results.


Retailers challenged despite relatively solid Black Friday

Black Friday Consumer Electronics Sales Brisk

Black Friday not looking so black

As for the title of the thread containing question "What Recession?":

This recession:

U.S. Recession Started in 2007, Longest Since 1980s

(I know, it was a joke by the OP, but couldn't pass this up.)


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

All you need to do to end the recession is to refuse to participate.

It's all 90% mental, the other half is fiscal.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

Jim5506 said:


> All you need to do to end the recession is to refuse to participate.
> 
> It's all 90% mental, the other half is fiscal.


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

Jim5506 said:


> All you need to do to end the recession is to refuse to participate.
> 
> It's all 90% mental, the other half is fiscal.


Really, that's very nice advice.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm



> THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: OCTOBER 2008
> 
> Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 240,000 in October, and the unemployment rate
> rose from 6.1 to 6.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
> ...


I suppose if the 10.1 million people without jobs shelled out good money on GPS devices, Bluray players and 46 inch LCD displays, all these recession ills would be cured.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

The lost jobs were retail positions selling Chinese goods, foturnately we still have the burger business to rely on.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Let's keep this to the news about TVs, as opposed to politics in general, please


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

davring said:


> The lost jobs were retail positions selling Chinese goods...


Except that a number of those TVs were THE Chinese goods!! :grin:

Big Cyber Monday Items Are Electronics, Uggs, Arts & Crafts



> Electronic products, Uggs and arts and crafts appear to be early winners.
> 
> HD televisions, Blu-ray products, digital cameras and navigation systems are the hottest devices, part of the consumer-electronics group seeing the most demand on Monday.


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