TV Prices Are the Highest They've Been In At Least Nine Years

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: Pricing right now on TVs is the highest since at least 2012,' says Stephen Baker, vice president of Industry Analysis at NPD group. 'Holiday pricing overall is likely to be at least $100 above normal. Last year the average price of a TV was $363 during the fourth quarter, which is fairly typical over the last few years. This year our forecast is for the average price to be approximately $500.' For a lot of shoppers a $500 TV sounds pretty affordable, but that's the average of every TV sold in the US. The majority are entry-level models with small screens and modest features that bring down the average. TVs come in a wide range of prices and sizes, and the higher average selling price will impact smaller, cheaper models more than larger, more-expensive ones. In fact, high-dollar TVs are selling better than ever, which of course helps drive up the average price. 'Sales of TVs over $1,500 are at record levels, and sales of TVs 75-inch and above are performing much better than the overall market,' says Baker.

The good news? Inventory this holiday season likely won't be a problem. 'Right now we don't expect significant shortages in TVs,' says Baker. 'While the port blockages are a concern, there are a lot of choices in the TV market. So if consumers can be flexible around brand and screen size, availability should be sufficient.' He adds that over the last few months TV sales have been tepid, which allows TV makers to build up enough inventory to deal with the holiday rush. So what does all of this mean for TV shoppers? Traditional holiday price drops will still happen, but maybe those $100 doorbuster deals won't be as common. 'There will be price drops, there will be promotions, the calendar does not disappear,' says Baker. 'But all of those pricing activities will happen on products priced substantially higher than in previous years.' In other words, midrange and higher-end TVs, the ones selling at a historic clip, are still likely to see plenty of price reductions in the next couple months. In fact, some are happening already.

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