Futuresource Consulting reports that the global market for projectors reached 1.98 million units in Q3 this year, representing year-on-year growth of 4%. Relatively soft demand in developed countries was balanced out by continued market growth in emerging markets, with China witnessing a particularly strong quarter at 510,000 units (16% year-on-year growth), which cements its position as the global number one market.
The Russian market also witnessed a belated strong performance of 54,700 units following a quiet period since the original economic downturn in 2008. The Latin American territory continues to underperform against Futuresource expectations, though numerous large education tenders are in the pipeline, which should result in a strong regional performance in 2012.
Moving forward, the outlook for 2012 looks relatively mixed, with economic uncertainty continuing to surround the US and European territories. The Euro 2012 Football tournament should help to stimulate entry-level demand in Europe in 2012 – and also affect market cycles. However, overall market activity is expected to remain relatively flat, with market growth expected to continue to come from emerging markets with Latin America, China, India, Russia and Indonesia the ones to watch.
Key Q3 highlights from the Futuresource report include:
* Short Throw (UST and ST) currently accounts for more than 14% of all global projector sales, up from 12.7% in Q3 2010
* Projectors with built-in interactivity accounted for nearly 2% of all sales
* XGA accounted for over 50% of overall sales as SVGA sales dropped off slightly
* WXGA again gained a small amount of share. However, in the US market, WXGA reached almost 30% as adoption gains pace.
* The new 500 lumen category (LED based) reached just over 4,000 units with five brands now bringing product to market
* Year-to-date home display sales are significantly down, as projectors continue to struggle for shelf space within retail.
