News Analysis
HDTVs, Blu-ray Players Still High On Wish-Lists
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (June 3, 2011) -- ABI Research has some good news for consumer electronics companies struggling to sell new HDTVs and Blu-ray players.

According to an ABI survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, roughly 24 percent of respondents said their highest-priority purchase in the next six months would be a High-Definition TV. Second on the list was a Blu-ray player, which captured the vote of 17 percent of respondents.

The survey found that 60 percent of households already own a HDTV, but the number of people who are still interested in buying one suggests that some consumers are looking for a second or third HDTV for the spare bedroom or kids' room. Additionally, it might suggest that some HDTV hold-outs are now ready to buy a new set.

ABI senior analyst Michael Inouye would seem to agree: “As consumers replace older TVs, there really isn't much choice now but to buy an HDTV, so even if the consumer doesn't necessarily want to view HDTV content, that’s usually what they end up with. Prices for HDTVs have fallen quite a bit, and many households are now replacing their second- and third-string televisions.”

As for Blu-ray, sales of the high-def disc players have risen in the last 18 months with some reports saying that as many as 30 million homes now own one. But sales of Blu-ray movies have not taken off as fast as the Hollywood studios had hoped. The fact that 17 percent of Americans are contemplating buying a Blu-ray player in the next six months could bode well for disc sales and rentals in the next year or so.

Following HDTVs and Blu-ray players, 16 percent of respondents said their wish-list was headed by a video game console.

In some bad news for CE companies, 46 percent of respondents said they had no major purchase intentions for the next six months.

Why are some people buying and some aren't?

ABU says price was either the most cited or second-most cited reason for buying most new devices.

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