Super Bowl: TV retailers and manufacturers look forward to selling more TVs

It takes a super screen to watch a Super Bowl.

At least that’s the thinking that drives legions of consumers to their local television retailers around this time of year to upgrade their video equipment. An informal survey of a handful of Brownsville retailers reveals that this year — with Super Bowl newcomers the New Orleans Saints up against Super Bowl veterans the Indianapolis Colts in Miami — is no exception, despite the recession.

Leticia Salazar, store manager at LFD Home Furnishings, confirms that the number of people coming in for new televisions has been rising steadily as the big event looms closer.

"And it’s all for the Super Bowl," she says. "They say that they want it delivered by Saturday, otherwise they’ll go somewhere else."

Some folks come in early, before they get their tax refunds, just to survey the merchandise. The timing of tax season and availability of the "rapid refund" helps make consumers’ big-screen dreams come true, Salazar says.

"We do in-house financing, so that helps, too," she adds.

Merchants can’t help but love the post-holiday echo provided by football season. Through sales, rebates and all kinds of promotions, retailers and manufacturers jump on the opportunity to sell more televisions like a lineman sacking a quarterback.

Emiliano Gonzales, manager at Gonzales Furniture & Appliance, says the bump in sales extends to big sporting events in general — though the Super Bowl provides more of a shove than a bump sales wise.

"Yeah, usually there’s an increase," he says. "Customers want to have the biggest TV they can to share with their friends and family."

Although Gonzales Furniture’s main focus is on, well, furniture, that hasn’t prevented the store from running a TV-giveaway promotion, which appears to be having the intended effect — getting more people in the door.

"I don’t know the exact numbers, but this past week we’ve had more people coming in," Gonzales says.

The Super Bowl is the top reason Americans buy a new television, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. According to a Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey, roughly 3.6 million Super Bowl fans were planning to upgrade in the weeks running up to the Super Bowl this year. That’s a million more than last year.

The CEA says Super Bowl fever is responsible for nearly 10 percent of all U.S. television sales. More and more consumers are making the switch to high-definition flat screens, even as the industry prepares to roll out the next big thing: 3-D.

Marivette Martinez, store director for Lacks Furniture Galleria, says her TV sales numbers typically increase 10 to 15 percent just before the Super Bowl compared to the rest of the year.

While flat-panel TVs have come down significantly in price since first being introduced, it’s still possible to spend thousands of dollars on a TV the length of a Mini Cooper. Martinez says most of her customers opt for mid-sized sets in the 32- and 46-inch range. Deciding which set to buy usually comes down to screen size versus picture resolution. Also, plasma tends to be more expensive than LCD.

"They’re looking for both the price point and the good picture," Martinez says.

Another reason people may wait until just before the Super Bowl to buy is the popular assumption that televisions get less expensive during that time of year, she adds. While it’s certainly true that TV retailers and manufacturers turn up the heat on advertising and promotions in anticipation of the Super Bowl, in general there’s no significant downward price fluctuation, Martinez says.

"It’s really the same market," she says. "They just market them more."