Even in these troubled economic times people still NEED a big new HDTV
Despite the news all being about the end of the universe and how you’re best off mashing up all your remaining money into papier-mache logs to burn to keep warm, one statistic on the UK economic trends chart is pointing UP – sales of HD LCD and plasmas TVs are still rocketing.
Stats compiled by GFK for the BBC show that sales of fancy flat high-def TVs increased by nearly 11% in the last three months of 2008 compared to the same period of 2007, presumably because no one’s got jobs any more, so sitting around in the house watching TV is now the main occupation of the UK population. And if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly with a nice new 52″ Samsung.
There are some other interesting winners in the economic war zone, too – news and business magazines have seen their sales go UP over the last six months, with mags like The Economist, Moneyweek and The Spectator reporting increases – either because we’re all considering changing careers, starting a business with the redundancy cheque, or just want some glossy photos of Brokers With Hands on Their Faces to cut out and keep.
Entertainment and home makeover magazine sales have plummeted, though. The likes of Beautiful Homes and BBC Good Homes have fallen by 14% and 23% respectively, matching the death of the buy-to-let market perfectly. We’re also not buying many music magazines – Q’s lost 25% year-on-year. And Max Power has seen an even bigger plummet.
We are all, basically, sitting at home in silence, staring blankly at a TV as our houses, cars and lives deteriorate. Happy Christmas, one and all!
