Samsung’s TV division posted a growth rate of 95 percent in the GCC, from the third quarter 2011 to the third quarter 2012.
Its dominant SMART TV market position has been spurred by the increasing demand for digital convergent products, consumer adaptability towards new technology and locally relevant content and applications.
“For the second year running we have sustained our leading position as number one in the SMART TV category,” Vinod Nair, General Manager, CTV Business – Gulf, Samsung Gulf Electronics, said.
“Sales of SMART TVs have increased almost 20 percent quarter on quarter in the GCC, since we launched the products in 2010. We believe that several factors have led to the increased demand for SMART TVs in the region; including the rise of the tech savvy consumer, more people being connected to the internet and more interest in content being developed specifically for the region.”
An important contributing factor to Samsung’s SMART TV sales is the sharp increase in active internet usage in the region. According to research carried out by Internet World Stats, broadband penetration in Bahrain increased from 57.1 percent of the total population in 2011 to an estimated 77 percent in 2012, showing that consumers in the country are placing a higher importance on being connected through their devices.
At home, consumers are realizing the value of having an internet enabled TV which offers an immersive browsing experience and the ability to share content, connect to social media platforms and download applications. There are many features that make a Samsung SMART TV, these include providing customers with AllShare, the ability to download and use applications, second TV, web browser capabilities and social TV.
The increase in social media usage in the region has also prompted consumers to purchase TVs that enable them to connect, share and engage with their social media networks through their TVs. Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are among the top downloaded Samsung SMART TV applications in Bahrain. The latest figures from the fourth Arab Social Media Report (ASMR) showed that by June 2012, Facebook users in the Arab world had reached 45.4 million, marking an annual increase of 50 per cent, tripling since June 2010. Twitter has reportedly registered over two million active users in the Middle East.
Aside from Samsung’s superior design and outstanding quality, its performance in the SMART TV category has no doubt been helped by the range of over 2000 applications that are available globally to download through its dedicated app store, ‘Samsung Apps’. By offering its customers another platform for internet enabled applications, Samsung has helped to migrate the ‘app revolution’ from hand-held devices to televisions, opening up unlimited possibilities of how consumers use TVs. In fact, 300,000 apps are downloaded per day globally on Samsung Smart TV’s.
Since launching its Smart TV app store in 2010, usage of Samsung SMART TV applications usage has increased by 700 percent, showing a clear shift in consumer attitudes toward SMART TV interaction in the region. Within the Gulf, Samsung is focused on developing a variety of Arabic language content which has been proving successful with SMART TV users in the region. The two most downloaded local applications in the region are the Al Jazeera news content app and Istikana, an Arabic video content app.
The latest range of Samsung SMART TVs encompasses a complete suite of features including Smart Interaction, Smart Content and Smart Evolution. Recognizing 26 languages including Arabic, users can turn the TV on or off, activate selected apps or search for content in the web browser simply by speaking. With the wave of a hand consumers can turn the volume and channel up or down, select links or control the web browser.