TrendForce: Global TV shipments in the first half of the year increased by 0.8%, TCL is expected to challenge the second place for the whole year

According to the latest survey by TrendForce, the global TV brand shipment volume in the first half of 2024 reached 90.717 million units, with a year-on-year increase of 0.8%. Demand performance varies by region, with China's TV sales falling short of expectations due to factors in the real estate market and changes in the usage habits of young people. In contrast, North America's demand was supported by sustained low-price competition, while Europe benefited from the boost of sports events, coupled with the low base effect of inflation in the previous two years, resulting in better-than-expected TV shipments in the first half of the year. The second half of the year is the peak season for traditional TV demand, and although brand shipments are growing, the growth rate has significantly slowed down. Additionally, due to the continuous rise in panel prices in the first half of the year, coupled with consumers' preference for affordable TVs, brands are finding it difficult to pass on costs to the market, leading to a reduction in festival promotion scale and a shift towards developing large-sized and mid-to-high-end products to reduce losses. This move will result in an average TV size growth of 1.4 inches in 2024, reaching 55.5 inches.

The top five TV brands in the first half of 2024 were Samsung Electronics, Hisense, TCL, LG Electronics, and Xiaomi, in that order. Despite TCL ranking third by a slight margin, its coverage in Europe and emerging markets is high, with second-quarter shipments surpassing Hisense to reach 6.68 million units, and both quarterly and annual growth rates exceeding 10%. TrendForce mentioned that TCL Group, with the advantage of panel factory capacity and pricing, as well as highly automated whole-machine production, is expected to challenge the second position in global shipments for the full year of 2024.

Mini LED TVs performed better than expected, driving a 55% growth in shipments this year

In recent years, global inflation and interest rate hikes have led to the rapid rise of the affordable TV market. Taking the U.S. market as an example, in the past, doorbuster prices were only seen on Black Friday, such as a 32-inch HD TV for $99 and a 65-inch UHD TV for $399. However, due to retailer-owned brands driving these special prices in 2023, these discounts have become normalized, with the regular price of a 65-inch UHD TV dropping to $299, prompting other brands to follow suit in price reductions to maintain market share.

TrendForce pointed out that in the first half of 2024, TV brands have successively faced issues such as rising panel prices and increased freight costs. To improve revenue conditions, manufacturers continue to expand product sizes, with Chinese brands TCL, Xiaomi, and Hisense reducing the number of Mini LED zones to attract consumers with more competitive prices. This strategy has successfully stimulated demand, with the annual shipment volume of Mini LED TVs expected to increase by 55% to reach 6.35 million units. Among them, the combined market share of these three major Chinese brands will reach 50% for the first time, surpassing Samsung. While Samsung still holds a 25% market share, it has decreased by 17 percentage points compared to the same period last year. If Samsung fails to introduce competitive products by 2025, its market share in Mini LED TVs may be surpassed by TCL OLED TV shipments return to the 6 million mark

In 2023, OLED TV brand shipments dropped by 20%. In 2024, brands adjusted their promotional strategies, and with Samsung entering the white OLED TV market, LG Electronics significantly reduced prices by 25% to 33% during the promotion season, driving sales. It is expected that this year's overall OLED TV shipments will increase by 15.9% to reach 6.23 million units, with the two major Korean brands LG and Samsung occupying 53.3% and 22.5% market share respectively. TrendForce predicts that if the cost of OLED TVs cannot be effectively reduced by 2025, it may be difficult to attract other mainstream brands to adopt them, and shipments may fluctuate between 6 million and 6.5 million units