What’s going on with TV sales at this year's Euros?

Normally, the weeks leading up to a major event like the Euro Championships see fans splashing out on new TVs. But this isn’t a normal year. GfK’s Jan Lorbach answers our questions on what's happening and why - and what to look out for in the last half of the year... 

Have TV sales lived up to expectations ahead of the Euros?

Yes and no… The two weeks (weeks 22 and 23) ahead of the first Euro matches were the strongest we’ve seen this year, compared to the year-to-date average. In fact, 2021 in general has been ahead of the same period in 2018, where we had the Football World Cup – but only up until week 22. Once the Euros started, sales this year tailed off sharply, whereas 2018 saw longer extension of the peak in revenue, and, in 2016, the peak was higher.  

Was it all about people getting a bigger TV screen size?

In fact, no. Pre-tournament sales (weeks 22 and 23) were driven by increased purchases of the really big screens - 65 inches and above! – and the average selling price (ASP) across all TVs peaked at €520 over this period. However, once the Euros started, those big screen sales dropped off and the smaller screens saw increased sales.

We may pull out two pattern here:

1. The first pattern are pre-planned purchases, timed for the weeks just ahead of the Euros. These show people ready to spend more on upgrading their TV and expecting a good deal for premium devices.  
2. The second pattern comes in once the tournament started. These are less planned and more of an impulse purchase – most likely triggered by the excitement of the games having already started. However, the short duration of this pattern shows that the excitement around the games this year is lower than it was in 2018, when sales continued further into the tournament period. In some countries, like Germany, we can link that to TV audience measurements which also showing a lower number of viewers in the first games of group stage.

In both of the purchase patterns above, it appears that people see the value of paying extra for features such as  an enhanced picture quality within their chosen screen size, to get the best viewing experience for their budget.

What do you see as the key opportunities for TV sales in Q3 and Q4?

The rest of this year is now even more crucial for manufacturers and retailers - especially as so many people already invested in a new “lockdown TV”, particularly during the last half of 2020.

Despite this, GfK still expects a positive growth in Consumer Electronics this year, driven by increase ASP, but reduced units sold.

Where we see the key opportunity lying is in the continued consumer demand for premiumization. With overseas summer holidays still a bit of a doubtful landscape, many people have extra disposable income available, and will be ready to consider upgrades rather than straight replacements: 

• Bigger screen size
• Higher picture quality
• Innovative features, such as MiniLED
• Enhanced Gaming capabilities with GPU Synced TVs
• Higher audio quality (built-in surround sound effect)
• Sound bars to enhance the TV they bought last year

To continue the conversation, please contact Jan Lorbach

Jan Lorbach is Senior Global Strategic Insights Manager at GfK. With a passion for understanding what people buy and why, Jan has been one of GfK’s specialist on Consumer Electronics for over 9 years, regularly presenting to clients and at industry conferences on the latest CE trends and predictions for the coming months.