More than 1.2 trillion US dollars worldwide during the year of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn has not had a negative impact on the global general market for home electronics products last year. On the contrary: After a 2.4 per cent decrease in 2019, global sales in-creased by 3.2 per cent in 2020. According to the GfK figures, consumers spent a total of 1.26 trillion US dollars worldwide on products from the consumer electronics and domestic appliance segments. This includes telecommunication products, consumer electronics, photography and IT products, as well as small and major domestic appliances.
However, the market figures varied substantially both regionally and in specific product categories. While the global market for telecommunications products shrank by about 6 per cent, and consumer electronics (including photography) decreased by 3 per cent, sales of major domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines grew by 5 per cent. Small domestic appliance sales were strong: This segment, which includes kitchen appliances, health and hair care products as well as vacuum cleaners, saw an increase in sales of 15 per cent. However, the IT and technical office product segment outperformed all others, growing by 22 per cent. The figures clearly show that more work was done in home offices. Not to mention that in addition to home schooling, people all around the world spent significantly more time at home.
Europe in particular stands out in the regional analysis: Strong sales saw an impressive growth of 12 per cent to reach 343 billion US dollars in 2020. In comparison, North America grew modestly by 3 per cent to reach 262 billion US dollars. The Middle East and Africa region grew by 2 per cent to reach 74 billion dollars. The Asia-Pacific region recorded a slight decrease of 1 per cent, falling to 503 billion US dollars. Latin America fell by three per cent to 78 billion US dollars.
“The regional figures that we presented in spring showed how our industry is robust in the face of the COVID-19 and its related economic impacts, even showing growth during this crisis. The global figures for the year demonstrate once again the global interrelated nature of these developments. Instead of asking whether a market development in one region of the world is reflected by another, we need only ask to what extent,” said Dr. Sara Warneke, Managing Director of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH.