LCD TV shipments in the US market in the fourth quarter of 2010 are expected to increase by about 5% on year as channel retailers are launching significant price-cut promotions to generate demand.

LCD TV shipments in the US market in the fourth quarter of 2010 are expected to account for 18-19% of the global LCD TV market.

With limited consumer budgets, channel retailers expect mobile devices such as tablet PCs and smartphones to replace products like LCD TVs and become the most popular product during the year-end holiday sales.

Channel retailers indicated that the global netbook market is diminishing due to the launch of iPad, and netbook shipments in the fourth quarter are expected to be lower than those of iPad. With tablet PCs and smartphones moving into the general consumer electronics market, tablet PCs and smartphones may further impact other products due to limited consumer budgets.

A slower than expected recovery of the overall economy in 2010, as well as narrower than expected price drops, have caused LCD TV inventory levels to surge, further causing channel retailers to start early on price-cuts for Black Friday. The price of Samsung Electronics' 40-inch Full HD LCD TV has dropped to US$498 from from US$800, while the price of Panasonic's 37-inch flat-panel TV has dropped to US$469 from US$649.