Sales of flat-panel TVs brighten retail picture

By Andrea Chang | Tribune Newspapers On the shopping list for budget-minded consumers: groceries, gas -- and a flat-panel television? Shelling out hundreds of dollars on a television is hardly wallet-friendly, but LCD and plasma sets have been flying off the shelves this year, with some retailers saying TV sales are better now than they were during the holiday season. Retail experts say the boob-tube boomlet stems in part from dramatic price-slashing by retailers that are trying to undercut the competition and need to move merchandise to make room for newer models. The June transition by broadcast stations to digital signals also brought out droves of shoppers who used the deadline as motivation to replace their analog TVs. And there's a recession twist: Some industry watchers say people are upgrading their TVs because... [read full story]                    

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