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Sticker Shock
December 7, 2007

Despite mounds of advertising, Blu-ray standalones proved weaker sellers than their Toshiba HD DVD counterparts during the Black Friday week, according to DisplaySearch research. During a Friday Webinar, DisplaySearch's Paul Erickson explained that price is the overall motivating factor when buying standalones, beating other considerations such as brand or features. Blu-ray scored the most circular mentions in the 3 weeks leading up to Black Friday, compared to HD DVD players getting their lowest ad representation in that frame prior to Nov. 25. For the Black Friday day specifically, DisplaySearch counted 80% BD ads, and 20% HD DVD. Yet the relatively cheapest Toshiba HD DVDs scored the largest share of standalone sales, at 62%. Best selling Toshiba model was the HD A3, which many retailers offered for $199. Hottest BD standalones were the entry level Sony and Samsung players, which retailers marked to $399.
Still, Toshiba can't really throw a party just yet. High-def players in general aren't really registering yet as a major consumer electronics category, according to DisplaySearch. People are more likely to see trendier GPS systems and digital photo frames under their trees. DisplaySearch blames problematic retail merchandising of HD DVD and Blu-ray players as hurting high-def hardware sales potential.
"There is not a lot of evidence for a high-def revolution at retail outside of TVs," DisplaySearch's Stephen Baker said during the same Webinar. 
Also, portable DVD players, once a Black Friday standout, seemed to have passed their popularity peak. Revenue and units in this category each fell 50% from last year's Black Friday frame. 

Posted by Susanne Ault on December 7, 2007 | Comments (0)