Bargain LCD Hunters Increasingly Choose Vizio

Shopping for a new LCD HDTV set? Join the crowd if you are planning to buy a Vizio set.

In these difficult economic times smart shoppers are bargain hunting, which is increasingly favoring LCD HDTV maker Vizio. A strong start to the 2009 year has lead to Vizio taking over as the most popular brand in the LCD TV market in North America. Consumers are facing dwindling disposable incomes, and this has resulted in Vizio's share of North American LCD TV unit shipments rising to 21.6 percent in the 1Q 2009, up 7.8 percentage points from 13.8 percent in 4Q 2008. The company has surpassed Samsung to take the No. 1 position in the North American region.

The increased market share is undoubtedly due to TV prices that were, on average, between $150 and $400 lower than the competition. Vizio's lowest Average Selling Price (ASP) for a 42-inch, 60Hz refresh rate, full High-Definition (HD) LCD TV was $850 USD. In comparison, Samsung and Sony 40-inch LCD-TVs with the same configurations carried ASPs of $1,000 USD and $1,090 USD respectively. When comparing 120Hz models at the 40/42-inch size, the price differential between Vizio and Samsung and Sony was $400 USD, with the Vizio set priced at about $1,000 USD.

Paramount to its success is Vizio's ability to maintain its low pricing while adding newer features to its LCD HDTVs, such as 120Hz refresh rates, making them more competitive with those from premium brands like Samsung and Sony. Another key factor contributing to Vizio's success is the use of big name retailer to sell its LCD TV sets, most notably Wal-Mart.

Source: Reuters