What can we learn from television (prices)?

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For economists, television prices are a useful reference point. Televisions are highly traded products (the bits that make a television are traded to and fro, and for most countries the finished product is an import). They are fairly standard products—a television sold in Munich is not going to be much different from a television sold in Manchester, Marseilles, or Minneapolis.
Comparing television prices tell three interesting stories about the modern economy. Television pricing makes clear the transitory nature of the 2021 inflation, and the lack of price stickiness. US television prices rose for just ten months in 2021/22. Thereafter, they plunged downwards in a deflation spiral that shows no sign of concluding. All G7 economies have television price deflation today.
Trade tariffs or taxes have a limited impact on pricing. US consumers of televisions from China have to pay a trade tax, but that has not stopped television deflation in the US.
Finally, television pricing is a reminder that the most important part of any country’s inflation is local costs. While several G7 countries have television prices clustering at 15% below the 2019 level, Italian prices are half the 2019 level while Japanese television are less than 3% lower. Local factors can cause a lot of price variation.