Core Insights
- In the first half of the year, Mini LED TVs in China outperformed the overall market, becoming a key focus for brands.
- The average price of Mini LED products dropped rapidly, while market share surged, indicating the effectiveness of the “price for volume” strategy adopted by manufacturers.
- More players are entering the Mini LED TV market, increasing competition and reducing brand concentration.
- Domestic brands in China continue to exert pressure on foreign brands, with substantial growth potential in overseas markets.
Despite the shrinking scale of the Chinese TV market in recent years, Mini LED TVs, which utilize new display technologies, have shown significant growth. They have become an important focus for brands targeting the mid- to high-end market.
Mini LED technology is a new backlight technology that uses smaller LEDs as light sources. According to publicly available information, Mini LED TVs outperform traditional LCD TVs in key image display metrics such as brightness, contrast, color gamut, viewing angles, and response speed, and come close to the display quality of OLED TVs.
Comparing the average prices across various screen sizes, in the first half of 2024, the average price of Mini LED TVs was about 1.6 times higher than traditional LCD TVs of the same size, while the average price of OLED TVs was over 4 times that of traditional LCD TVs of similar sizes. This shows that Mini LED TVs not only deliver excellent image quality but also come at a relatively lower price, making them attractive to consumers seeking high-quality displays at a competitive price point.
The first half of 2024 saw the Mini LED TV industry in China display the following eight trends:
Trends in the Mini LED TV Market in China: First Half of 2024
- Rapid Market Growth and Increasing Penetration:
In recent years, the overall size of the Chinese TV market has continued to shrink, but Mini LED TVs have achieved rapid growth, emerging as a hot segment in the TV industry. In 2021, Mini LED TVs entered the “growth year,” accelerating market expansion and showing strong development trends. By the first half of 2024, the Mini LED TV sales volume share reached 5.7%, and the sales revenue share hit 13.5%. - Stable Overall Market Prices with Rapid Price Decline for Mini LED Products:
Looking at the main selling sizes, the overall TV market price remained relatively stable this year, while the average price of Mini LED products dropped significantly. Despite rising panel prices upstream and challenges with shrinking end-demand, brands have generally adopted a price stabilization strategy. In contrast, Mini LED TVs have gained significant market share through price reductions, benefiting from mature technology and declining production costs. - Mini LED Becomes a Key Focus for the Mid- and High-End Market:
Under the trend of market premiumization, Mini LED TVs have gradually become a key focus for brands looking to capture the mid- to high-end market.
By price segment, in the first half of 2024, Mini LED TVs saw significant increases in market share across all price ranges between ¥5,000 and ¥20,000 ($690–$2,760). For instance, in the ¥15,000–¥20,000 price range, Mini LED’s market share increased from 26.8% last year to 46.2% in the first half of this year, a rise of 19.4 percentage points. In stark contrast, the market share of OLED TVs only showed slight growth in the high-price segments above ¥15,000 ($2,070). - Improved Display Parameters and Shifting Market Focus:
In the first half of this year, the sales structure of Mini LED TVs showed notable improvements in backlight partitioning and peak brightness parameters compared to last year. The market focus has shifted toward products with more than 1,000 backlight zones and peak brightness exceeding 2,000 nits.
The sales revenue share of products with 1,000–2,000 backlight zones (including 2,000) increased from 19.9% in the first half of 2023 to 24.4% in 2024, with sales revenue growing by 196% year-over-year. Products with peak brightness in the range of 2,000–3,000 nits (including 3,000) saw their sales revenue share increase from 7.4% to 18.4%, growing by 480%. The combination of declining prices and improved display parameters will further boost the market penetration of Mini LED products. - Continuous Upgrading of New Product Structures, Highlighting Trends in High Backlight Zones and Peak Brightness:
New Mini LED TV products have seen continuous upgrades in backlight partitioning and peak brightness, further emphasizing trends toward more backlight zones and higher peak brightness. The proportion of new products with more than 2,000 backlight zones has risen to 23.1%, up 7.7 percentage points from the same period in 2023. The proportion of products with peak brightness exceeding 3,000 nits has risen to 17.3%, up 13.6 percentage points compared to last year. This iteration trend is driving consumer upgrades, with more backlight zones and higher peak brightness pushing forward the product development cycle. - Increasing Market Competition with More Players Entering the Market:
The rapid development of the Mini LED TV market has attracted more players, leading to a surge in the number of models and intensifying competition. In the first half of 2024, the number of brands selling Mini LED TVs in China reached 22, an increase of 5 compared to last year. The number of models sold reached 334, up by 185 models, an increase of 124% year-over-year.
As competition intensifies, brand concentration is decreasing. The combined market share of the top two brands in sales revenue dropped from 57.4% in the first half of 2023 to 47.3%, a decrease of 10.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, the market share of the third and fourth-ranked brands, as well as brands ranked fifth through tenth, has grown compared to last year. - Increased Promotional Efforts Lead to Significant Sales Growth:
During major sales events such as the “6·18 shopping festival” (week 21 to 25), the overall promotional discount intensity for Mini LED TVs was greater than in the previous year.
The proportion of products with a price discount of less than 5% decreased from 67% in 2023 to 49% in 2024, while the proportion of products with a discount rate of 5%–15% saw a notable increase. The volume of products with discounts greater than 5% grew by 497% year-over-year. The clear price promotions during major sales events, aimed at driving up sales, further reflect the effectiveness of the “price for volume” market strategy. - Overseas Market Penetration Gradually Increasing, Chinese Brands’ Competitive Strength Growing:
From January to May 2024, the global sales share of Mini LED TVs (excluding North America and China) increased from 4.0% in 2021 to 7.6% in 2024, showing a year-over-year upward trend. However, compared to the Chinese market, the penetration rate of Mini LED TVs in overseas markets is still low, leaving significant room for growth.
Since 2022, Chinese brands have continued to exert pressure on foreign brands in the domestic Mini LED TV market. From January to May 2024, the sales share of Chinese brand Mini LED products reached 84.1%, up from 55.4% in 2022. At the same time, the share of Chinese brands in overseas markets has also grown rapidly, increasing from 10.5% in 2023 to 23.8% in 2024. This indicates that overseas markets hold considerable potential for growth and development for Chinese brands.
Looking Ahead: The Future of China’s Mini LED TV Market
In 2024, China’s Mini LED TV sales volume is expected to surpass 1.7 million units, with sales revenue expected to exceed ¥13 billion ($1.79 billion). As the Mini LED market continues to grow rapidly and competition intensifies, brands must develop effective product strategies and market plans targeting specific segments. This will be key to increasing their share of the mid- to high-end market.
As Chinese companies continue to invest heavily in R&D and optimize supply chain costs for Mini LED technology, their global competitiveness will further strengthen. This year, major Chinese brands have been sponsoring high-profile global events such as the UEFA European Championship and the Copa América to enhance brand internationalization through sports marketing. In the future, Chinese brands should continue to capitalize on the long-term growth opportunities in overseas markets, strengthening their brand influence and premium capacity.
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