Distributor sales revenues from large format displays (LFDs) grew by eight percent in the third quarter.
Beancounters at CONTEXT have added up some numbers and divided by their shoe size and concluded that despite the positive growth of LFDs, interest in videowalls remains high even if sales declined by nine per cent year-on-year.
Revenues and volume sales in Western Europe declined in that period, with weakness coming from all screen sizes, says CONTEXT. The only growth spot was 49-inch displays, the sales of which more than tripled.
Despite the weak performance of videowalls, standard and interactive displays saw double-digit sales growth in early Q3. Amongst standard LFDs, 55-inch displays remain dominant, but there is a visible trend towards smaller 49-inch, 43-inch and even 32-inch displays, together with growing by 82 percent.
Ultra large displays, 85-inch and above, still account for a smaller volume share but interest increased. Volumes of these models more than doubled in early Q3. Amongst displays with a touchscreen, the most significant shift has been noticed for LFDs with 75-inch, which now account for over 20 percent of volume sales.
The first eight weeks of Q3 saw the average selling price (ASP) decline across all types of displays. For instance, the ASP of the most popular 55-inch non-touch LFDs dropped by over €100, which is a 10 percent decrease year-on-year.
CONTEXT Senior Analyst for Displays at, Dominika Koncewicz said: “Strong sales in early Q3 follow the already very positive trend for LFDs at the beginning of 2018, which should continue in the second half of the year. Despite weak performance, we should see more videowalls as well as increasing interest in high brightness outdoor displays.”
