- According to IHS Inc., the global market for digital signage and professional displays is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3 percent, from 4.4 million units in 2015 to 7.7 million in 2020.
Public display growth in the first quarter of 2016 was fueled by higher unit shipments of 32-inch and 49-inch displays and a rapid shift towards larger sizes in the education and corporate market. Displays sized 60 inches to 69 inches are the most popular category, and those between 70 inches to 79 inches are the fastest growing size category in the education and corporate collaboration verticals.
“Consumer TVs will continue to limit the growth of both public displays and public display TVs,” said Sanju Khatri, Director of Digital Signage for IHS Technology. “As technology improves and prices fall, more customers will risk buying consumer TVs for use in commercial environments, because businesses that do not need to display sophisticated content may find consumer TVs perform well enough for their purposes. We���ve already seen two major consumer TV brands position their products in the public display space, and we expect this trend to increase in future.”
Digital signage and professional or public displays are intended to be used in out-of-home, public environments and by multiple individuals simultaneously to convey information, advertising or other forms of messaging. Public-display TVs are low-cost, all-in-one displays designed specifically for the signage market. For example, LG Electronics SuperSign and eZ-sign and Samsung Electronics Smart Signage TV. Consumer TVs, while not originally intended for this purpose, are sold through business-to-business channels and used for signage and professional displays applications. Hybrid displays, combining features of hospitality and commercial products and sold into the public display market, are also included in the consumer TV category.
