Best-selling TV size in South Africa

According to feedback from two of the country’s biggest TV retailers, 43-inch panels have remained a very popular TV size in South Africa.

This relatively smaller TV size, first used for a Sony CRT model launched some 35 years ago, has been the top seller at retail giant Massmart and third-best seller at Expert’s Kloppers stores in 2024.

The feedback is noteworthy, considering South African consumers have increasingly opted for larger TV sets in the past few years.

When MyBroadband previously asked retailers about their best-selling TV sizes in September 2023, 55-inch and 58-inch sets came out on top.

A poll from August 2023 also showed 55-inch was the sweet spot for most MyBroadband readers, while TVs over 50 inches in size were far more popular than 50-inch and smaller units.

The latest comment suggests that several smaller sizes have seen a resurgence in popularity.

Game and Makro owner Massmart told MyBroadband that the group’s customers were interested in a wide range of panel sizes.

“This category tends to be aspirational, with a customer’s available budget often being the determining factor for the panel size and level of technology they opt for,” the retailer said.

The retailer’s top-selling sizes in 2024 have been its 43-inch, 40-inch, and 32-inch sets.

Massmart said it still saw “strong interest” from customers seeking panels measuring 55 inches or greater.

Game and Makro customers also sought TVs with the latest technology they could afford. Massmart noted that QLED in particular drew increased attention.

While it has less reach and recognisability than Massmart, Kloppers is another South African retailer well known for its extensive TV selection at competitive prices.

The retailer told MyBroadband that its best-selling units were 75-inch, 65-inch, and 43-inch models.

That suggests the typical Kloppers shopper may have a bigger budget or greater preference for larger models than the average Game and Makro customer.

At the top end, Kloppers said that it was seeing better demand for its 100-inch TVs than in 2023. It currently offers models in this size from Hisense and Skyworth.

The retailer also revealed that its top-selling brand was Samsung, which accounted for its top three most popular models:

1. QA75Q60C — 75-inch QLED 4K Smart TV
2. QA6560CAAK — 65-inch QLED 4K Smart TV
3. UA43CU7000 — 43-inch Crystal 4K Smart TV

Affordable smart TVs

One possibility for the increased popularity of smaller units is that more entry-level TVs have started getting smart software built-in.

Paired with a substantial increase in broadband availability, households with tighter budgets may be drawn towards these units as an affordable way to conveniently stream video content.

At the time of publication, major brands, including Hisense, Samsung, Skyworth, and Toshiba, offered full HD 43-inch Smart TVs for under R4,500. 32-inch sets were available for as little as R2,499.

With a 43-inch display and the typical distance between the TV and a couch in small home, the difference between full HD and 4K quality, the newest standard for resolution, is also nearly imperceptible.

The pixel-per-inch or pixel density is so high that a user would have to sit very close to the set to notice the upgrade to 4K.

For those that do upgrade to 4K, MyBroadband previously found that this size offered the best value for money on a price-per-inch basis.

In that analysis, the average price of three models from Hisense, LG, and Samsung was R7,277.

While not as affordable as full HD models, we also found many 43-inch 4K TVs selling for under R6,000 online in October 2024.