Soundbar Revenues Up 48% in 2012

Consumers continue to be cognizant of the poor quality of flat panel audio and are flocking to soundbars, according to Quixel Research’s Q3 2012 Sound Bar Market Review

Revenues for soundbars in the U.S. through the first three quarters of 2012 are up a whopping 48 percent versus 2011, even though the category saw a dip of 35 percent in Q3 compared to Q2 in 2012. Likewise, shipments of units are up 47 percent.

Even though revenues and unit sales were up year over year, Q3 revenues dipped 44 percent and units fell 35 percent in Q3 compared to the hot second quarter in 2012. Meanwhile, the marketshare percentage of non-HDMI soundbar units was up 14 points Q2’12 to Q3’12, while one-piece sound bar solutions (either with or without a subwoofer) gained 11 points.

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“In the Q2 2013 certain manufacturers ran promotions that spiked the overall soundbar market significantly for that quarter,” says Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel Research’s principal. “In Q3 we didn’t see that activity and subsequently shipments declined 35 percent. However, the market is still very robust with shipments were up 47 percent year-to-year, and we project a strong holiday selling season.”

Pratt adds that higher end models and brands drove up an overall average selling price increase from Q3’11 to Q3’12.

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