Average Selling Price of Tech Products Goes Down

The average price of technology products were down during the month of August according to the latest NPD Consumer Electronics Price Watch.

August sales showed some sequential price declines with prices down 2 percent from July, the sharpest decline since May. Compared to the same period last year, August 2004 prices were down 16 percent. The overall price level fell below $12,000 for the first time, with the total price for the Price Watch basket of goods hitting $11,979.





Only one product fell by 10 percent during the month of August. The basic DVD player fell 16 percent from July levels to $46.61. Both 20GB music players, like Apple iPod and progressive scan DVD player prices were down slightly more than 5 percent from July. Interestingly, prices of 20GB music players, which were down 7 percent from July, were up almost 12 percent from last August.

About 25 percent of the items in the Price Watch basket saw increases from July to August. This group of products was led by home audio products, including home theater all-in-one systems and AV receivers. Home theater all-in-one systems saw prices jump 8 percent to just over $300 and AV receivers had an ASP of $361, an increase of 4 percent from July.

The average price of Plasma TVs fell over $100 from July, while notebook PCs fell nearly $45 during the same period. Dollar increases besides those were limited although home theater all-in-one systems', $22 increase over July prices, gave it the sharpest percentage increase of any product in the basket giving it the leading percentage increase.

Since the start of Price Watch in January 2003, overall prices for the basket of goods has fallen 29 percent, or nearly $5,000. Twenty-four of the 27 items in the Price Watch basket have fallen by more than 10 percent in average selling price. In this time period only one product has registered a price increase - the basic desktop PC, which now sells for an average of $721 versus its January 2003 price of $705.

Source: press release

See also:

• Plasma TV Prices Dip Below $2,500


• Internet Shoppers Care about More Than Price


• Low-End TVs: Time for the Price Wars to Begin

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