December Video Sales Close Out Spectacular Year Of Growth

9-Feb-01

Manufacturer-to-dealer sales of video products grew by 15 percent in December 2000 to a total of more than 6.4 million units, culminating a year of strong growth, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Total sales of video products in 2000 reached 67.8 million units, representing a 12 percent increase over 1999. The spectacular year finished with sales increases in almost every category.In December, standalone DVD player sales reached 1.3 million units, an increase of just under 102 percent over December 1999. On the year, sales of DVD players rose by almost 109 percent, to total sales of 8.5 million units in 2000. In just four years of sales, DVD players have already reached 14 million units.Camcorder sales increased by 40 percent in December, and with 5.8 million units sold in 2000, total sales were up by an impressive 22 percent for the year. Sales of TV/VCR combinations rose by 13 percent in December and 12 percent on the year to nearly 5 million units. Direct view analog TV sets also had a great year, climbing nearly 22 percent in December with 2.5 million units sold and 4 percent for all of 2000 with 24.2 million units. Total sales of VCR decks for the year reached just over 23 million units, which represents an all time high for this product. Finally, despite losing some sales to the steadily emerging DTV market, analog projection TV sales remained roughly equivalent to last year, with 1.2 million units sold.""2000 was a successful year for video sales,"" said Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA. ""Consumers' increasing interest in digital technologies and the home theatre experience are responsible for the impressive figures generated by DVD players, digital camcorders and similar products. We expect 2001 to continue this growth, with strong sales of new and progressive digital products such as personal video recorders and digital television."" Source: CEA

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