LED Bulb Prices Drop Steadily in February, Raising C/P Ratio to Become Future Market Key, says TrendForce

Global Average Selling Price (ASP) for 40W equiv. and 60W equiv. LED bulbs both dipped in February 2014, with falls in U.S. most evident. ASP for 40W equiv. LED bulbs slid 0.8% to US $15.1, while 60W equiv. LED bulb ASP dropped 2.1% to US$ 20.8.

Top manufactures promote new products as smart lighting seen as future trend

Top brands look to improve functions as global LED bulb prices steadily drop, said  Terri Wang, Analyst of LEDinside, a research subsidiary of Trendforce. Currently in the U.S. market, 90% of branded bulbs are dimmable and 70% are omnidirectional. Most new products released in the European market as of late have also been bulbs with omnidirectional capabilities. Besides, manufacturers have been focusing on the introduction of smart control systems this year. Philips Hue bulb is already on the consumer market in China. Not to be outdone, Samsung has recently announced the launch of a new LED smart bulb, which uses Bluetooth technology to allow users to connect and control it directly from a smart phone or tablet.

Increase in price/performance ratio of first tier brand products spurred various regional markets to increase standards and speed up integration, said Wang. And smart lighting has become the future development area for lighting products. However, the smart bulb market still faces hurdles in price and consumer acceptance which prevent it from becoming popular. Therefore, first tier manufacturers are focusing on how to solve the issue of balancing function and price.

U.S. 40W equiv. LED bulb ASP plummeted, while global 60W equiv. LED bulb ASP steadily declined

Most evident 40W equiv. price drops were seen in the U.S. region in February where ASP fell 11%, according to observations by LEDinside. Pre-existing product prices steadily decreased while new products were released at low prices. Walmart’s in-house brand Great Value’s 7W omnidirectional bulb for example had a luminous flux of 470lm and ASP of US$ 8.48. Cree’s 6W 450lm dimmable bulb price also dropped to US $7.49 in February. Some of Philips products saw a dip in price as well.

ASP declined 1.9% for 40W equiv. bulbs in China in February. Pre-existing products prices dropped. For instance, Samsung’s 6.9W 490lm bulb price declined from US$ 19.5 to US$ 12.5 this month. Besides, the product is provided with a three year warranty.

Global 60W equiv. LED bulb ASP steadily decreased in several regions, but rose slightly by 2.6 percent in the U.S. region. Pre-existing product prices however either remained steady or dipped slightly. The price growth was mainly due to high price products returning to the market causing ASP to increase. Lighting Science for example stopped sales of 13.5W bulb with  800lm luminous flux. The product made a comeback to the market in February with price at US $20.6.