3.2 million HDTVs forecast to be sold at Christmas

Guess what’s going to be under the Christmas tree this year? Or maybe just hanging on the wall behind the tree…

Experts are predicting that more than 3.2 million flat-panel HDTV’s will be sold during this forth quarter holiday buying rush. That’s up nearly twice as much from the same quarter of last year.

The increase of sales is due in large part to the decrease in retail prices of the HDTV sets. The average set is down to around $1400. The eight percent lowering has caught the eye of consumers who hadn’t before ventured into the market because of the prices.

The higher interest is also directly related to programmers. Satellite and cable providers are increasing their high definition offers. Now consumers will have more to view on their new flat screens than just the DVD’s that were stuffed in their stockings.

The addition of local HD channels will continue to increase the consumers interest since these are the channels that are most watched.

The real challenge over the HDTV purchase boom will be to avoid buyer’s remorse. Many consumers don’t understand that not only do they need to purchase the set, but they also need to purchase programming. Many get the sets home and find that the picture quality is no different than what they had before, leading to disappointment.

Providers and retailers are working together to educate consumers on how to get the most out of their HDTV purchases.