Emerging Markets More Interested in Smart TVs

SANTA CLARA: According to NPD DisplaySearch, consumers in emerging markets are twice as likely as those in mature markets to purchase an Internet-enabled smart TV in the year ahead.

The company’s quarterly Smart TV Usage study asked participants about their planned TV purchases; 71 percent of consumers in Brazil, China and other emerging markets reported that they were likely to purchase a smart TV in the next 12 months, compared to only 37 percent of those in France, the U.K. and other mature markets.

For connected TV owners in emerging markets who are not likely to purchase a smart TV in the near future, 25 percent mentioned that they already owned other smart devices that could access the content they wanted.

Consumers cited the high cost as one reason for not planning to purchase a smart TV, though reasons did vary by country. In Russia, the most cited reason was that they already owned another smart device. In Indonesia, it was pricing. In both Turkey and Mexico, consumers did not see the need for a smart TV in connected flat panel TV households since many already owned one.

“Features that are key to future smart TV purchases include being able to search for online content, web browsing, and VOD services, as they allow consumers to access entertainment, news, and other online content such as shopping,” said Riddhi Patel, research director at NPD DisplaySearch. “Dual-play 3D games and cloud storage were least important to consumers.”