Front projection market poised for growth throughout 2024 in challenging marketplace

The front projection market has reached a point where growth has started to slow and key brands are consolidating their market shares. However, the latest quarterly report from Futuresource Consulting uncovers some compelling opportunities for significant short-term growth. 

“As expected, projector sales volumes declined during 2020 and 2021, as COVID-19 lockdowns were enforced across the globe,” says David Thompson, Lead Market Analyst, Futuresource Consulting. “Since then, sales volumes have never fully recovered. But we’re still looking at a five-billion-dollar market, with huge revenue opportunities for the brands that focus on product differentiation and brand loyalty within their specialised verticals.” 

Opportunities in home and large venue

Futuresource Consulting’s Q1 projector report forecasts single-digit market expansion for 2024, both in terms of sales volumes and value. The specialist research firm notes that promotional activity tied to major sporting events will bring some recovery for the dedicated home segment. Strong demand for projectors in large venues and installations will also continue in the short term, helping to buoy the sales of 5,000+ lumen projectors.  

Significant short-term growth is also expected from emerging territories such as India, South America and MEA. In many emerging countries, education and low-cost corporate solutions remain highly significant. 

Innovation still drives projection sales

“Looking to the tech, projection continues to benefit from incremental specification improvements, technical innovations and new creative use cases,” says Thompson. “We’ve seen high brightness models bring to life visually spectacular 3D projection mapping displays and immersive experiences. These innovations will continue across the coming years, cascading into the mainstream B2B market. That’s despite mounting competition from flat panel displays, with brands such as Epson demonstrating a crystal-clear understanding of what their core corporate and institutional customers need from front projection. However, there are limited market applications for these high-end capabilities, so many brands will focus on cost leadership to win share.” 

Long-term decline is less than anticipated

Although Futuresource forecasts point to long-term decline for the front projection market, the rate of decline will be far less than that seen over the last five years. Mainstream B2B and large venue segments will prove to be the most resilient, due to demand from emerging territories for a low-cost, large-format display solution, as well as demand for creative capabilities from high-end segments. 

Futuresource Consulting’s Q1 2024 Front Projection Quarterly report provides detailed analysis and forecasts, allowing executives to build a comprehensive view of the current and future state of the front projection market. For more information or to make a purchase, please contact ben.thrussell@futuresource-hq.com. 

About the author

David Thompson

David Thompson joined Futuresource as the Lead Analyst for Projection in January 2024. He is responsible for the delivery of Futuresource’s quarterly Front Projector Market Reports and Online Projector Market Tracker, as well as worldwide forecasting for the projector market. David previously spent four years working within the Opportunity Markets and Global Strategy teams at Sony, building a strong experience of analytical reporting in the technology sector before joining Futuresource.