Vizio overtakes Samsung in TV sales in North America

Samsung lost its lead in the North American LCD TV market to low-cost U.S. television maker Vizio, whose low-cost TVs have become increasingly popular among consumers looking to save money during a turbulent economy.

According to iSuppli research, Vizio shipments were bumped up to 21.6 percent from 7.8 percent compared to the previous quarter from October to December.  After the January-March quarter, Samsung fell to No. 2, now controlling 19.9 percent of the North American market.

When compared to competing TV sets from Sony, Samsung, and other manufacturers, Vizio’s 40- and 42-inch LCD Tvs are $150 to $400 less. 

"Due to its aggressive pricing, Vizio for some time has maintained its position as North America’s top-selling LCD-TV value brand," iSuppli analyst Riddhi Patel said in a press release.  "However, since the onset of the economic downturn, Vizio’s share has risen dramatically.  With budgets becoming increasingly tight, consumers are finding the company’s inexpensive sets more alluring."

If Vizio continues to offer TVs that are lower priced than competing models from foreign companies, then expect to see its control of the North American TV market increase a few more percentage points throughout the rest of 2009.  It should be interesting to see if Sony and Samsung will cut prices to better compete with Vizio in the future, or if they’ll stay put and see what Vizio does.

Despite consumers buckling down because of the ailing economy, North American LCD TV shipments from January to March were 10.5 percent higher than the same period last year — 6.3 million units sold.