LG Electronics revealed on Apr. 5 that the global shipments of LG’s StanbyME for the first quarter of this year reached approximately 58,000 units. This figure represents a 56% increase over the total shipments from the previous year, which stood at around 102,000 units. This data indicates a significant increase in monthly sales from an average of 8,500 units last year to 14,000 units this year.
Regarding shipments by region, around 34,000 units were delivered in South Korea and approximately 16,000 units in North America during the first quarter. To put this in perspective, Korea and North America received 66,500 and 22,000 units last year, respectively. This means that in these two primary markets, over half of the previous year’s total shipments were achieved just in the first quarter of the current year.
StanbyME distinguishes itself with its wheeled design, easy mobility, and capability for up to three hours of wireless operation. Priced at an MSRP of $806.75 (1.09 million won), it is notably more expensive than an LG 27-inch touch FHD monitor with comparable specifications. However, its popularity is attributed to its height and angle-adjustable stand, a unique selling point since its debut in 2021. Despite the rapid pace of innovation in the consumer electronics market, where new products are launched annually, StanbyME continues to be sold in the same model as its initial introduction, yet demand for the product has shown a consistent upward trend.
The first quarter of this year saw a significant uptick in StanbyME’s shipment volumes, driven largely by increasing demand from overseas markets. Initially launched in North America and Asia two years after its debut in Korea, StanbyME has gained positive reception abroad as a novel and convenient display option. In response to this growing interest, LG Electronics expanded StanbyME’s availability to the European and Middle Eastern markets in the latter half of last year.
An LG Electronics representative said, “This year, the proportion of international market sales exceeded 40% of our total sales. Products that create a new category, like StanbyME, often take time to gain recognition and trust among consumers. Consequently, sales tend to grow as the market becomes more familiar with them.”
The industry attributes the surge in demand for movable screens to the increasing trend of personalized content consumption. Whereas in the past, a single stationary TV was standard for the whole family, the shift towards a more individualized viewing experience has led to the ‘one person, one screen’ phenomenon becoming the norm in households. Movable screens, like smartphones, are favored for their mobility and ability to provide a more engaging viewing experience with a larger screen size.
