Wal-Mart Helps Drive Vizio LCD-TV Sales Past Sony

Vizio accounted for 14.3 percent of flat-panel TV unit shipments in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, a 3.11 increase in percentage points from 11.2 percent in the prior quarter, according to the latest figures from researchers at iSuppli.

"A cornerstone of Vizio's selling strategy is Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, which features the company's LCD-TV products," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, television systems, for iSuppli, in a statement.

The Wal-Mart factor definitely paid off. According to the researchers, in November and December 2008, U.S. consumers bought more televisions at Wal-Mart than at Best Buy, "the first time this has occurred in the two years iSuppli has been conducting research in this area," Patel said.

Fourth-placed Panasonic was the only brand to outpace Vizio's growth, with an increase of 3.12 percentage points in market share, growing to 10.7 percent compared to Vizio's 3.11 percentage point increase.

Premium brand Samsung stayed in place as the top-selling brand, with a 20.2 percent share in the fourth quarter, down from 20.8 percent in the third. Sony fell to No. 3 with a 13.5 percent share, down from 13.9 percent in the third quarter.

"This is an indication that in the present tough economic climate, consumers are becoming less brand conscious and prefer televisions that they perceive to have good picture quality and that are less expensive compared to the competition, rather than seeking models with a lot of extra features," Patel said.