Americans intend to purchase Samsung HDTVs over Sony-branded sets

ETX Daily Up

Samsung has overtaken Sony as the brand most consumers are considering for their next high definition TV purchase.

Twenty percent of consumers who are looking to buy an HDTV during the first half of 2012 said they are considering purchasing a TV made by Samsung, while the percentage of consumers intending to buy a HDTV made by Sony has dropped from 27 to 19 percent.

Features such as screen size and enhanced display technology may sway a consumer one way or another but pricing remains a major deciding factor for the majority of TV buyers in the US.  

Samsung’s success may lie in the fact that it has found a harmonious balance between pricing, features and form factor said ABI Research senior analyst Michael Inouye.

A recent study by IHS iSuppli found that Samsung’s TVs accounted for close to a quarter of LCD TV shipments in the US, a record high for the company.  

“Samsung triumphed in the price war that raged in the U.S. LCD market in the fourth quarter of 2011,” said Tom Morrod, senior analyst and head of TV Technology for IHS. “The company was able to offer a range of price-competitive sets with a rich choice of features that U.S. consumers wanted. This allowed the company to outperform the competition during the all-important holiday selling season.”

Michael Inouye added that, “[c]onsumers continue to place screen size, display technology, and above all, price, as the most vital features for future TV purchases – all of which conspire to make differentiation in the TV market increasingly difficult.”

Newer features such as 3D and internet connectivity are still not resonating with potential buyers. Prospective TV buyers in the US cited 3D TV as the least important feature to have on a new TV. Forty-two percent of respondents said they had no interest in a 3D-ready TV at all.

“While 3D and Internet connectivity have not generated the boost to the bottom line as some had hoped, the latter at least remains an essential ingredient to best address the changing consumer landscape for CE,” predicted Inouye.