Rise of the titanic TV

Sales of 70-inch sets soar ... but we’re shunning alarm clocks and doorknockers

THE days of families huddling around a small screen in the corner are numbered. For the most commonly sold television size is now 70in.

Sales of TVs with a screen at least this big were up 97 per cent in a year, according to John Lewis’s annual shopping trends report. In 2010 the average screen size was 36in.

The report also found that alarm clocks may soon become a thing of the past as we increasingly rely on our smartphones to wake us up – and even monitor our sleeping patterns.

The department store has reduced its range of alarm clocks by 30 per cent after sales fell by 16 per cent in the last year. Traditional door knockers may also be on the way out. John Lewis said sales had fallen by 9 per cent as homeowners invested in smart doorbells with live video streaming – meaning you no longer even need to be at home to answer the door.

Sales for systems such as the Ring smart video doorbell or the Nest Hello video doorbell were up 367 per cent since they first went on sale in July last year.

A number of major events encouraged consumers to splash out on supersize TVs this year. Sales of 60in models soared by 249 per cent in the wake of the Royal Wedding and the World Cup.

The report also found that sales of 80in sets had risen by 200 per cent in a year. However, the rise of streaming services sent DVD player sales tumbling by 40 per cent.

And while the trouser press may have been cutting edge in the 1960s, sales at the store have also fallen 36 per cent.

John Lewis said the financial problems at rivals House of Fraser and Debenhams showed the year had been ‘one of the toughest retailers have seen’.

The partnership reported a 98.8 per cent slump in profits for the first half of the year as uncertainty around Brexit wrought havoc on the high street.

But the store said the year’s extreme, fluctuating weather had spelled good news for sales of boots, up 63 per cent in February and March, and inflatables, up 316 per cent during the heatwave.

The ‘ biggest surprise’ for the retailer was the resurgence of the thong after years of declining sales, up 72 per cent in a year. Sales of suspenders also leapt by 132 per cent over the same period.

Meanwhile, the department store revealed that for the first time the majority of online shoppers – 42 per cent – had visited the John Lewis website via their phone. The number of orders placed on mobile phones rose by 35 per cent. Simon Coble, trading director at John Lewis, said: ‘It is fascinating to see what trends our customers have fallen in and out of love with this year and how big events like the World Cup and the Royal Wedding have such a significant impact on what we buy.’