Video Sales Surge After Summer Respite

Factory Shipments Of Video Products Show An Overall Increase Of Eight Percent In August

18-Sep-00

Shipments of factory level video products reached 4.9 million units during the month of August, an eight percent increase from last month, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Year-to-date growth resulted in double-digit gains boosting dealer sales to 38.7 million units, a 13 percent increase over 1999 figures. While statistics for year-to-date product categories improved, monthly sales were not as robust. With the exception of analog direct-view televisions, all other categories experienced incremental growth during the month.TV/VCR combinations demonstrated the largest increase in August, advancing six percent to 389,000 units. End-of-summer sales resulted in camcorders and VCR decks fast-forwarding ahead by five percent. DVD-Video players, building on their phenomenal momentum, ended the month with stellar sales of 557,617 units. ""Despite an unremarkable August, year-to-date figures continued to flourish especially for cornerstone products like VCR decks and analog direct view TVs. In the coming months, sales will abound as retailers gear up for the holiday buying season,"" noted Todd Thibodeaux, CEA's Vice President of Market Research.So far this year, TV/VCR combinations are up 13 percent to three million units, while camcorders are up 19 percent with 3.4 million units shipped so far this year. Confirming that bigger is better, projection TV sales reached 771,000 units, an increase of 19 percent. DVD-Video players completed the year-to-date period reaching 3.8 million units.