World Cup boosts TV sales downtown

Orange Street in downtown Kingston was alive with the sound of business on Thursday.

Delivery trucks lined sections of the busy commercial stretch, workers loaded appliances into waiting vehicles, and customers moved in and out of furniture and appliance stores, some leaving with television boxes in hand. Storefront speakers competed with the noise of traffic, one of them booming: “Sale out on all TVs.”

For appliance store operators in the area, the World Cup has done what major football tournaments often do: turn casual television browsing into urgent buying. Ali, who operates an appliance store on Orange Street, said since the tournament started in June, interest in televisions has climbed sharply.

“More people have been coming in asking about TVs,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR. “Some are not buying the same day, but the interest is much higher than normal. Some days 12 people come in, other days six to 10. It all depends.”

He estimated that television sales have increased by about 25 to 40 per cent, depending on the week and the match schedule.

“When a big match is coming up, especially those big teams like Brazil, Argentina or France, you see more people coming in eager to buy a television and they make it known that it is to watch the World Cup,” Ali said.

Another appliance store operator said World Cup season has become one of the stronger periods for TV sales.

“Outside of Christmas and back-to-school time for some appliances, World Cup is one of the better periods for TV sales,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR. “Football pushes people to spend, and because of that I ensure to prepare for it. I have not got to the point where we are sold out yet, but I believe it is getting there.”

But behind the rush for bigger screens is a familiar Jamaican contradiction, money is tight, prices are high and many customers are on a strict budget. Still, football fever is powerful enough to push some buyers to spend now instead of later. Both store owners said customers are mostly gravitating towards 40-inch and 50-inch televisions, while 32-inch sets remain popular among buyers on tighter budgets. In some stores, 40-inch televisions are being sold for between $27,000 and $40,000, making them one of the more attractive options for shoppers trying to balance size and affordability.

COMPARING PRICES

Among the customers moving along Orange Street was Trish, who said she had been comparing prices before deciding whether to buy. She said the World Cup had pushed her to start looking seriously at television prices, even though buying a new set was not something she had planned to do immediately.

“Everything expensive right now, so you have to think before you spend,” Trish said. “But mi wah stay in a mi house and watch the match comfortably. It gives a different feel from when yah watch it pan yuh phone.”

She said affordability was still the biggest factor. “I am looking for something reasonable,” she said. “The bigger TVs nice, and mi did a plan fi buy a TV dung in a the year anyway so me lock mi eye and buy this. Brazil a go final either way yuh take it and me need the big screen!”

Ali said the 40-inch and 50-inch televisions have been moving the fastest.

“A lot of them (customers) say, ‘Mi need something fi watch the match properly’,” he said. “Some say the TV at home too small, or the picture not clear enough. The World Cup gives them a reason to upgrade.”

He said in many cases, customers had already planned to change their television later in the year, but the tournament pushed them to act sooner.

But even with the spike in sales, store operators acknowledged that buying a new television is not easy for many Jamaicans in the current economy.

“Comfortably? No,” one owner said when asked if the average Jamaican can easily afford a new TV. “People are buying, but many are probably stretching themselves. Some save towards it, some use partner money, some put it on hire purchase.”

“One man came in and said his TV could not survive another World Cup,” Ali said, laughing. “He said the picture was so bad he couldn’t even see the ball properly. He bought a new one the same day.”

He opined that the rush is more than a sales boost, it shows “that football is not just a sport here”.

“Even when Jamaica is not playing. It becomes part of daily conversation.”