HDTV Prices on the Rise

According to the Retrevo CE Index HDTV prices are on the rise in February. This is the first rise in prices since May 2008. Prices in February were up 10% after dropping approximately a total 35% from May 2008 to January 2009. Demand for HDTVs spiked as you might expect in January due to the holidays and Superbowl. There's nothing like a big sporting event to get people out and buying TVs.

Holiday and Superbowl sales as well as the closing of Circuit City has held prices down. It makes sense that other retailers would have to keep their prices down as Circuit City liquidated their inventory. Now that all these factors have subsided, the "perfect storm" of HDTV sale prices seems to have passed. If you didn't get in while you had the chance, you may have to wait a few months or risk paying a few dollars extra. If you come across a good deal, now is definitely not the time to sit on it and see if you can find something else.

We've known for some time that display prices have some of the slimmest margins in all of AV so this doesn't come as much of a surprise. As sales decrease because of the economy, manufacturers are looking for ways to keep their bottom line as stable as possible. This means either selling lots of units with low margins are a few units with higher ones. We don't expect HDTVs (without the introduction of some new, hot technology ) to increase substantially, however. But sales may be harder to find until consumers start buying more. If that means waiting until the holidays, that's just what the manufacturers are going to do.

Currently, hot products right now based on rising demand are car accessories, including receivers, amplifiers and video players, headsets, multi-function printers, monitors, and GPS receivers.