LCD Digital Signage Takes Off in USA

“Sales of professional displays of this kind—typically classified as Digital Signage displays—are one of the benchmarks used to determine the growth of the Digital Out-of Home market. Their installation in OOH (out-of-home) environments helps to create a ‘digital inventory’ where advertisers can sell advertising space,” noted Chris Connery, DisplaySearch Vice President of PC and Large Format Commercial Displays.

 Figure 1: US Commercial Distribution Sell-Through of Large (26”+) Professional Use LCDs

Source: DisplaySearch Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report

Commercial grade flat-panel screens can be used for applications like way-finding, electronic menu boards, flight-information displays, boardroom displays and classroom displays. However, these displays are increasingly being used to help build out digital signage advertising infrastructure in OOH environments. The commercial availability of narrow frame (or bezel) LCD displays in the 40-46” class have also helped to open a new market, because they can be more seamlessly tiled together to form even larger size displays (without distracting lines in the overall image).

Additionally, while this market has been traditionally dominated by Samsung, LG and NEC, more traditional IT companies such as HP and Cisco have entered into the mix in recent quarters, helping to further build out the digital signage infrastructure.

Sales of commercial-grade displays designed specifically for such rugged public environments are not the only leading indicator showing growth in the digital signage infrastructure, however. Not all digital signage solutions use screens designed specifically for OOH environments, and many major brands offer standard TV products for commercial installations as well, especially if installed away from the reach of the general population (such as hanging from a ceiling). Thus, shipments of standard TV products (most with a PC interface) through commercial distributors are another indicator of growth in the OOH digital advertising sector’s inventory of available digital displays. September data shows that TVs shipped through commercial distribution channels also rose to record levels with TVs selling commercially in Q3’09 up 85% Y/Y.

Table 1: Q3’09 US Shipments of 26”+ LCDs Through Commercial Distributionby Display Type

Source: DisplaySearch Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report

*Hybrid denotes products which are specifically marketed as being appropriate for both commercial and consumer environments.

Full analysis of actual end-market shipments of large-format flat panel displays through commercial outlets down to the SKU level can be found in the DisplaySearch Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report. This monthly report is the industry’s most definitive tool for tracking the sell-through data of both large-size LCD and PDP displays (>26″) through commercial US distribution channels. This joint NPD/DisplaySearch product leverages information and expertise from DisplaySearch and the NPD Commercial Technology Group’s POS shipment data to cover markets such as digital signage, corporate conference rooms, public transportation and more. It captures monthly sell-though data from commercial-only agents, and offers quarterly in-depth analysis of trends seen in both the AV and IT reseller and distributor channels.

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