Online channels are driving major domestic appliances market
Online channels have become the highest drivers of the major domestic appliances market, according to research information provided by Natalia Andrievskaya, the Global Director MDA of GfK at the ongoing IFA Global Press Conference in Rome, Italy.
According to the data, sales in appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens, tumble driers and freezers have done exceptionally well, with most of the transaction happening through online channels.
The data shows that some 570 million appliances have been purchased mostly in Asia and South America in 2017. GfK therefore projects a growth in sales of plus 4.1 per cent in 2018.
Transactions in technical consumer goods through online channels are growing in 18 European countries, she said. That grew at 25 per cent in 2017, she added, making online channels an important source of interacting with consumers.
Most consumers use online channels to view products before they buy, while 54 per cent of shoppers use online channels to save money.
“Black Friday has shown double-digit in most countries,” she said, adding that, “Black Friday was 31 per cent bigger than average week of 2017.”
Black Friday volumes however are spilling into offline channels, the data shows.
The report indicating that 50 per cent of consumers worldwide believe that smart appliances will make their lives better shows that China is almost 60 per cent of the smart appliances market.
Ms. Andrievskaya however points out that: “Despite the high interest, larger Smart Home appliances appear to have lower adoption. Smart Home owners continue to struggle with the longer lifecycle of these products not aligning with the pace of technology. Value proposition is another issue. Consumers are unclear how to identify the value of product features, many of which seem aspirational rather than useful.”
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, in Rome, Italy
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