Sales Up But Companies Often Buy Screens With Wrong Glass

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

San Juan Capistrano, California-based PMA Research, global market information specialists on large displays, has published its latest report on large-format (32” and larger) displays sold by leading U.S. Pro AV dealers and integrators who serve commercial markets.

logo pma researchUnit sales in November of 60”-and-larger flat panel displays surged 24% over last year, according to PMA’s ‘November 2014 U.S. Pro AV Flat Panel Display Tracking Report‘.

Sales of both professional-grade and consumer-grade models into commercial applications registered strong growth in the over-60” range.

However, growth of consumer-grade glass in this segment increased at twice the rate of professional-grade volume. Overall, revenue growth in the over-60” range also registered double-digit gains on a year/year basis though that growth was milder than volume growth as average street prices fell 7% from last November.

“The shift to consumer-grade products in the commercial channel is an ongoing concern to the industry,” says Rosemary Abowd, PMA senior analyst. “Manufacturers and dealers worry that end users are choosing the wrong product for their application, and may ultimately be disappointed if they are using consumer-grade product in heavier-use situations. However, price tags can be more easily understood than total cost-of-ownership. In fact, the total cost-of-ownership story is sometimes completely missing from the purchase decision.”

PMA Research’s Pro AV Flat Panel Tracking Service offers timely sell-through data and analysis on unit sales, revenues and true volume-weighted street prices of Professional Large-Format Flat Panel Displays sold by leading U.S. dealers, systems integrators, and distributors.


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