London (March 1, 2021) – The global public display market has grown by 5.9% quarter-over-quarter after declining in the first half of 2020, according to Omdia’s Public Displays Market Tracker.
Recovery for the public display market is underway, across all product categories, but one of the noteworthy trends to observe is the growth in shipments for signage TV products. Omdia defines these products as hybrid “prosumer” displays that are designed and intended for digital signage applications by the commercial display divisions of a particular brand. Most often, these are rated for 16/7 or 18/7 usage, and are also targeted toward more cost-conscious sectors, such as retail, classrooms, and small to medium businesses.
Signage TV share comprises around 15% of overall public display shipments in 2020, however, this product category has shown tremendous growth in the last half the year. Samsung’s launch of their BE series, along with Philips’ recent launch of their B-Line series, demonstrates the growth potential for these products. For 2020, Samsung represents 66.5% share of total signage TV shipments, followed by LG Electronics at 20.3% share.
Overall 2020 public display shipments decline 9.8% year-on-year, yet some regions report growth
Globally, all regions felt the effects from 2020 - ranging from the pandemic outbreak, regional and national lockdowns, along with supply chain disruptions. However, overall public display shipments for 2020 reveal that Latin America, Japan, and the China region found growth opportunities despite the challenges.
Latin America records a noteworthy increase of 15.9% year-over-year, prompted by strong growth in the signage TV category mentioned previously. Samsung comprises 89% share of overall public displays in the Latin America region, especially in key countries such as Brazil and Mexico.
Public display shipments reveal the China region were also minimally impacted by the effects from 2020. China’s overall recovery due to the pandemic was rapid compared to other regions, prompted by government expansion for China’s Smart City initiatives within the energy and security sectors. China also implemented temperature sensing displays in many transportation and public spaces verticals, in addition investments in displays for command center applications.
Despite the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 being postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, overall public display shipments in Japan report a 0.2% year-over-year increase compared to 2019. The China region records further growth of 4.3% quarter-over-quarter for Q4 results, with a slight decline of 3.9% year-over-year compared to 2019.
Anticipated recovery in other regions is underway, with Western Europe reporting 13.6% quarter-over-quarter increase compared last quarter’s performance, albeit declining 17.6% year-over-year for 2020. Western Europe observed increased momentum as many projects ramped up toward the end of Q3 and continued through October and November before additional lockdowns in December were implemented in many key countries.
Eastern Europe has seen the highest growth in Q4, growing by 63.9% compared to Q3. The growth can mainly be attributed to Samsung’s strong performance in Russia of their BER series in the region, especially within cost conscious applications such as retail, education, or small and medium businesses.
In North America, IFP/Touch display shipments reported noteworthy performance in 2020, especially in Q2 and Q3. However, this growth trajectory is hindered this quarter as several niche brands reported a dip in Q4 shipments, declining 20.7% quarter-over-quarter.
Omdia forecasts that there will be further recovery for the public display market into 2021, particularly during the second half of the year as vaccination distribution continues and many sectors that were more impacted during the pandemic begin to ramp up again.
Positive outlook for further recovery into 2021
In the fourth quarter, recovery for global shipments for signage and information displays occurs in nearly all regions, with an overall lift of 10.0% quarter-over-quarter. North America and Western Europe continue to be the strongest markets for signage and information displays, comprising 55.3% share of global signage and information display shipments for 2020.
Interestingly, shipments for high brightness displays used in outdoor and semi-outdoor applications within the signage and information display category increased 4.7% quarter-over-quarter. The growth in these high brightness displays is led by products with 4,000 nits and above, reporting a lift of 36.2% quarter-over-quarter for Q4 results. Growth in these types of high brightness digital signage solutions is on the rise in retail, transportation, and public space applications as many companies in these sectors are making capital investments, especially in retail store windows, quick serve restaurants (QSRs), and digital billboards or street furniture in the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising space.
Shipments of interactive touch displays dip slightly during the fourth quarter, reporting a decline of 3.0% quarter-over-quarter. The overwhelming demand for these IFP/Touch displays in the corporate and education sector in the months following the onset of the pandemic kept global demand for interactive touch displays strong, with much of the initial demand observed during Q2 and Q3 of last year.
Videowall shipments also are demonstrating solid recovery of 5.7% quarter-over-quarter growth in Q4 results, with videowalls with bezel-to-bezel width gaps below 1mm reporting the strongest growth of 28.9% quarter-over-quarter. Omdia expects further recovery for videowall shipments after current supply chain issues are gradually resolved over the next few months in the latter half of 2021.
Kelly Lum, principal analyst, pro AV devices, at Omdia commented: “Globally, demand from the corporate and education markets was strongest during 2020, especially as collaboration and the capability to interact virtually within these sectors was essential during the pandemic. However, overall industry sentiment for growth opportunities in other markets such as retail and public spaces at the start of 2021 seems promising, with the expectation of further recovery occurring in the second half of the year.”
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