The pricing picture is unclear

Aflurry of television promotions this week by mass-market retailers reminded consumers that football season is here, in addition to highlighting the frustration associated with comparing prices among retailers proclaiming to offer the lowest. Look at the cover of Target circular this week, which featured a 42-inch Magnavox 1080p television for $647. While that may seem like a good price, it’s hard to be sure since no other retailer promoted that brand this week and it’s not as well-known name as Sony, Samsung, Toshiba or Sharp. Target also offered a 52-inch Sony for $1,599.99 and appeared to best a Sears price of $1,649.99, but Sears indicated delivery and installation are free on televisions larger than 46 inches, although it is not clear from the retailer’s ad. The 32-inch Vizio brand Target offered for $379 was more expensive than the 32-inch Element brand television Walmart offered for $348, but it was less expensive than the 32-inch Samsung Walmart featured at $448. Kmart steered clear of television promotions this week, then had the misfortune of promoting the same 32-inch Element brand as Walmart for $51.99 more. Walmart also offered a 46-inch Sony for $1,178, while Sears listed two Sony 46-inch televisions, one for $1,799.99 and the other for $1,299.99, with no explanation in the ad to explain the $500 difference in price.

Even in those increasingly rare instances where televisions appear similar because they are the same brand and screen size, consumers are confounded in their efforts to compare prices, as retailers don’t typically include model numbers or adequate specifications in the ads to directly compare the feature sets of the featured sets. That makes it impossible to determine whether a more expensive television might actually be a better value. Think the situation is bad now? Football season has only begun. Wait until the holidays and Black Friday promotions. The electronics category and televisions in particular has been a cornerstone of door buster deals for years. Look for some ridiculously low prices this year, as retailers look to target cash strapped consumers and demonstrate price leadership heading into what promise to be a challenging holiday season.