German Home Electronics Market in the First Half of 2026 with Ups and Downs

Ahead of IFA in Berlin, GFU Home & Consumer Electronics GmbH is presenting current figures* for the home electronics market in Germany for the first half of 2026.

Following a balanced result for the full year 2025, the first half of 2026 shows a moderately declining result: In the months from January to June 2026, a total sales volume of 20.6 billion euros was achieved in Germany with technical consumer goods (TCG), corresponding to a decrease of 2.5 percent compared with the same period of the previous year.

Products that offer clear added value with high consumer benefit, such as convenience and greater support in everyday life, did in some cases show double-digit growth rates. At the same time, the global crises and the associated uncertainty are reflected in increased reluctance to buy and a strong tendency to save. Buyers’ price sensitivity means that designated promotional events in retail are becoming more important for customers. In Germany, the seven largest promotional periods, within just 15 weeks (equivalent to 29 percent of the year), cumulatively generate a full 37 percent and thus more than one third of annual revenue.

As has been observed for some time in the home electronics market, developments in the individual market segments also varied greatly in the first half of 2026: With sales of 12.7 billion euros, the Consumer Electronics (CE) segment recorded a decline of 3.2 percent in the months from January to June 2026 compared with the same period of the previous year. Large electrical appliances also recorded a decline in sales (–5.1 percent), at 4.4 billion euros. By contrast, the small electrical appliances segment developed positively in the first half of 2026, with sales of 3.5 billion euros and growth of 4.0 percent.

Looking at individual product groups, the picture is also mixed: Despite increased sales volumes for TV sets due to the FIFA World Cup (+4.6 percent), the first half of 2026 brought a 2.3 percent decline in revenue. The situation was different for projectors: they clearly benefited from the FIFA World Cup, with revenue increasing by 25.8 percent.

The action cams product group also showed growth, achieving a 21 percent increase in revenue. Headphones also developed positively, with revenue up 6.1 percent in the first half of 2026. Notebooks and desktop PCs increased their revenue by five percent during this period.

The Health Tech and Well-Being product segment also showed positive development: around 5.9 billion euros in revenue, corresponding to an increase of four percent, with unit sales rising by two percent to 1.67 million.

In general, it is evident that, above all, products with new product features and thus clearly recognizable added value for consumers were able to generate remarkable increases in unit sales in the first half of 2026: examples include vacuuming and mopping robots (+66.1 percent), fully automatic cold-brew coffee machines (+42.5 percent), PCs with AI functionality (+149 percent), and OLED monitors with a high refresh rate (+75 percent). These figures impressively underscore that consumers are certainly willing to make purchases—but especially when the products address relevant needs and bring innovations.

*The market figures in this press release are based on the collaboration between GFU and its partner NIQ as the sum of sales in Germany to private consumers.